Cognito Ergo Sum
by Dr. Weird
Summary: March 5, 21XX. Takes place after a slightly AU post-X8. Humankind and Reploids finally enter an era of peace, but the peace slowly shatters as events threaten to destroy society. It'll take more than an army of reborn Hunters for this one. Xover w/ P3/P4.
1. Precursor of the Past

DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is a crossover between the series Megaman / Rockman X and [Shin Megami Tensei:] Persona 3 [and MAYBE 4, as it is the sequel]. This franchises are copyrighted by CAPCOM and ATLUS respectively, meaning the only rights to this story is the originality of the plot; however, virtually all characters are already existent, and NOT under my personal ownership. However, there will be a third party of characters that _are_ my creation, which I will reveal as the story goes on to prevent spoilers, most likely at the end. You'll know what I mean.

Anywho, happy reading!

* * *

><p>"<em>Those who don't remember the past… are doomed to repeat it." – George Santayana<em>

* * *

><p>Not much was known about the events that transpired which had led to the events that lead to the death of one young Minato Arisato on March 5, 2010. Some say it was heart failure. Some say he just fell asleep and never woke up. But those close to him – those who shared his… 'unique situation'... knew better. He was the one to house a divine entity of the absolute end – Death itself – since childhood. When it finally was released and threatened to wipe out all mankind.<p>

Minato and his companions – a small group of individuals ranging from high school students to an android to an orphaned boy to a puppy – each with a similar, extremely rare gift – learned that this being of death, Nyx, goddess of absolute death and mother of the creatures they fought dubbed 'Shadows' (**Demonic offspring of unaware humans which repress emotion or negative feelings, which effectively mutate into monstrosities whose powers are dominated by the Major Arcana they are classified as, meaning the Tarot card their powers fall under**) could not die herself.

Come to think of it, the effective death of a godlike being seems ludicrous to the average person. 'Kill a god What sacrilege! Blasphemy! Insanity!' So in an act of desperation – the last remaining glimmer of hope – Minato, having known that is what he who suppressed Dearth for more than a decade in his own body, created a pocket dimension with his own powers – the power of the Wild Card, a rare ability to master Persona (_The abilities that represent a person's soul incarnate, taking the form of a meta-physical being, almost always based off of ancient lore of some kind; Shadows that are able to grasp its own ego lose the insanity that plagues them and can become a Persona; a Persona can be divided into any of the 22 Major Arcana, but are usually between Arcanae I – XII (__**The Magician all the way to The Hanged Man**__), and those of 0 (__**The Fool; also deemed the Wild Card**__) and XIII to XXII are rare (__**Death all the way to The World**_)) and used all of his power – effectively signing his death warrant – to seal away Nyx behind a gate dubbed 'The Great Seal'; his soul itself became the lock. Of course, this happen on the eve of the New Year – January 1 2010; the night of the Full Moon, when the Shadows' power were at their peak.

Minato clung to life another 2 months, and died on Graduation Day of his school; Gekkoukan High School, Port Island / Iwatodai, Japan; Died March 5, 2010, died as a high school first-day senior.

His friends who partook in the same battle as him remember him as the savior of mankind from a force no one was aware had the guillotine looming of mankind's head.

A savior that humanity remained unaware of for nearly 200 years.

But 'history' and 'destiny'… have a funny, also sadistic way of humoring each other...

Let us step to the year 21XX, just shy of the new century…

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 1: Precursor of the Past (OPERA OF LOST MEMORY)<p>

* * *

><p><em>X's Journal: Entry 305<em>

_Date: March 4, 21XX_

_Mood: Content_

_Dear Diary,_

_ For the first time in a long time, as strange as it sounds, I feel like a large burden was taken off my shoulders. It wasn't easy, but we've finally found a cure to all forms of the Maverick Virus. The Sigma, Colony, Nightmare and Zero Virus were similarly taken care of as well; I think that those who lost their lives in the wars would be honored to learn that the project we Maverick Hunters worked so tirelessly to complete in their name has finally come to fruition._

_And speaking of the lost…_

_Commander Signas designated that to set an example for the Hunters, all 64 and such 'Maverickized' Reploids from the 8 Maverick Wars were ordered to be restored and brought back online, memories and all, and were, for the most part, adopted back into the Maverick Hunters._

_Old friends like Storm Eagle, Armored Armadillo, Boomer Kuwanger (of whom we two personally buried the old hatchet), Flame Stag (who also buried the hatchet due to being friends with Kuwanger for a long time), Magma Dragoon (He still doesn't __**terribly**__ like me, but we at least see eye to eye; he still gets along with Zero, unlike those like Grizzly Slash, whom he and Zero still have issues, but were alleviated to an extent, I guess._)

_Even the Repliforce and Red Alert were brought back. Wow… I did think Vanishing Gunagoo and Flame Hyenard, or even Iris, could give such a crushing bear hug. Poor Axl and Zero. Or in this case… not so poor. I mean, even Colonel, General, even Slash Beast was smiling. Oh and Skiver looked overjoyed to see Colonel and Iris, but was clearly restraining himself. Good for him._

_I mean, Zero's got some old friends back – Blast Hornet and Magna Centipede, two of Zero's partners in the 0th Shinobi Unit – and was reunited with the one person that made him all tingly inside (…Okay… not the best line, but still.) and Axl had a family reunion. What's not to be happy about?_

_Life was patching up for both Reploids and humans. Each and every one of those who were revived patched things up with humankind (For some it was easy, for some… not so much. Take Dragoon; he sunk the Sky Lagoon as a Maverick, but when he tried to apologize publicly, he was stuttering like crazy and sweating bullets on his armor. It almost was poetic justice, from a strangely sadistic point of view.) Those like Armored Armadillo and Grizzly Slash assisted with recreational programs in addition to Hunter duties (Believe it no not, they, Sting Chameleon and Chill Penguin are pretty good with kids. I mean, since Chameleon has the playfulness of a kid, and Chill's the height of a grade-schooler… Oh, wait, I just dissed them. Oh well. It's not like anyone's going to find this diary; wouldn't want penguin to start squawking. …-snicker- Grizzly being called 'Teddy'. Thank God no one heard me laugh._

_The Repliforce and Red Alert were reinstated by Signas and the governments, although to be fair, some human members were a bit edgy (I don't blame them at all, to be fair. I **fought** all of these guys first-hand!), but everyone's doing their part to work things out, and the three organizations – Hunters, Red Alert and Repliforce – are all forming an alliance for a better future._

_Yep. Life was pretty good for everyone; human AND Reploid. I don't want to be conceited by the thought that Mavericks are gone forever, but if they do…_

_We'll all be ready for 'em. And if this were some sort of elaborate dream, then I don't wanna wake up; I'd wanna go deeper, like that one 21st century movie I saw last month. What was it called again…? 'Inception…?' (Authour's Quip: WE HAVE TO GO DEEPER. X-CEPTION.) Ah, whatever. 'Night, diary._

March 5, 21XX, 5:27 PM (Location Hunter HQ)

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ALL AVAILABLE HUNTERS PLEASE REPORT TO THE MAIN ROOM!", came a familiar female voice.

In matter of 2 minutes, roughly 100 Hunters assembled, including some familiar faces.

"What seems to be the problem, Alia?", X asked. "X, you and everyone else will not believe this, but…", Alia trailed.

"But…?", Storm Eagle inquired.

"There's a trio of berserk Mechaniloids reeking havoc on the Southern Quadrant of Abel City; they're slamming into everything in sight."

A collective "!" washed over the room, leaving many to talk among themselves. Words like 'No way!' or 'You can't be serious' could be heard from Hunters of all colored armors.

"Do you now the cause, Alia?", asked Magna Centipede. "Certainly this is no random occurrence, right?"

"Centipede's got a point.", came Blizzard Wolfang, a Hunter who works with a reborn, re-christened Gate, but is visiting Hunter HQ on his behalf. "If the sentient ''Loid' populous has been 100% immunized for that last year or so, how can three Mechaniloids suddenly go AWOL without detection?"

"That's the thing.", came Layer. "After scanning the ID and accessible data on the Mechaniloids, it turns out that… that…"

"That… what?", asked Blizzard Buffalo. "What Layer is trying to say is… we have reason to believe that these Mechaniloids are being manipulated by an unknown party nearby.", replied Palette. "The rampaging attack patterns are far too linear – too coordinated to be a random Maverick outbreak."

"You mean like… remote control?" , asked Wheel Gator, who cocked his head slightly.

"Exactly.", came Palette. "And according to the thorough background checking of these Mechaniloids, one thing is clear."

A moment of silenced passed.

"The one controlling these Mechaniloids…", Alia started. "Is _not_ a Reploid or computer of any kind. We have reason to believe they're human."

The room flooded with a mixed array of reactions.

"Do you have an actual lead?", Flame Stag asked with a slightly low tone, his knuckles massaging together. Clearly he didn't like the sound of it one bit.

"DNA samples? Anything?", Sting Chameleon cracked, his left camera-like eye shuttering, as if 'blinking'.

"…Actually…", Layer mumbled. She walked over to the computer and super-imposed the image of a hand-written letter. It was in very ornate script, and the design on the rim of the card had a 'divine' look to it.

It read:

'_What truth was locked shall now be said,_

_And those who sinned shall soon be dead._

_You all wore freedom like some kind of prize,_

_Too many lies and everyone dies.'_

(.שאלוהים יסלח לנו)

"Wha…?", asked Armored Armadillo. "What language is that last part…?"

"The period is on the left.", Bubble Crab noted.

"It's Hebrew; considered to be one of the first languages of human civilization. It translates to… 'May God Forgive Us.'"

"May God…", Storm Eagle asked out loud. "…Forgive us…?", Bubble Crab blinked.

"Sound like a lot of Biblical crap to me.", came a voice; it turned to be Slash Beast, representing Repliforce on Colonel's and General's behalf. "Ya got a fix on a possible culprit?"

"Like I said…", Layer continued. "…The penmanship has no match to anyone… but there was a DNA match..."

This got everyone's attention. "And the perp is…?", Magma Dragoon asked.

"…", came Alia , Layer and Palette remained silent, a mysterious facial expression worn by all three.

"…Uh, you three okay…?", Axl asked, worried.

Alia finally spoke. "The DNA matches… a boy of 17. But here's the catch: he died almost 200 years ago."

"Say WHAT?", came from a large number of the Hunters in the room.

"You're saying the culprit was a _corpse_?", screech Chill Penguin. Sting Chameleon and Armored Armadillo, - who stood on either side of him – gave off a weird look towards each other.

"No, there's obviously no way a reanimated human body, or a zombie in sci-fi terms, could have somehow come back to life and manipulated three highly sophisticated, heavily securely-programmed Mechaniloid with the flick of the wrist; that borders on the fringe of lunacy.", Alia

"Lunacy or not, three Mechaniloids have gone berserk and there's a possible lead. What's this boy's name?", asked Wolfang.

"…Uh, let me check… Ah, here it is…"

* * *

><p><em>Minato Arisato.<em>

_Age 17, Birth Date: Unknown, 1992. Birthplace: Iwatodai Port Island, Japan._

_Died: March 5, 2010 (Age: 17) Cause of death: Unknown; believed to have been cardiac or brain activity failure._

_Additional information: Top student of the Gekkoukan High School Junior Class (Attended only 1 year), member of the track and swim teams (STAR, CHARIOT), member of the crafts club (TEMPERANCE) and student body council member (EMPRESS, EMPEROR (Non-SEES), JUSTICE (Non-SEES), was considered extremely social despite his constant silence._

_Has a close circle of friends who were said to have known the truth of Minato's death, but 'for the world's sake', covered it up; most of the cover-up was successful by the heiress of the esteemed Kirijo Group, Mitsuru Kirijo (Age 18 at the time). See also:_

'_S.E.E.S'_

_Junpei Iori (MAGICIAN)_

_Fuuka Yamagishi (HIGH PRIESTESS)_

_Mitsuru Kirijo (EMPRESS)_

_Akihiko Sanada (EMPEROR)_

_Shinjirou Aragaki (HIEROPHANT) (Passed away prior to Minato's death; cause of death: blood loss from a gun wound in the stomach; suspect was never made public)_

_Yukari Takeba (LOVERS) (Minato's lover)_

_[Project] Aigis (CHARIOT; Minato's Successor)_

_Ken Amada (JUSTICE)_

_Koromaru (STRENGTH)_

_Pharos / Ryoji Mochizuki (DEATH)_

'_Strega'_

_Takaya Sakaki (WHEEL OF FORTUNE)_

_Jin Shirato (HERMIT)_

_Chidori Yoshino (HANGED MAN)_

* * *

><p>"So… so slimeball pins his crime on a dead kid? What kind of sick creep does that?", Blizzard Buffalo guffawed, clearly disgusted by the fact a kid's memory was being besmirched in some matter. Being a peace-loving Reploid, such a vile act would not stand.<p>

"Hmm…", X hummed. "What's wrong, X?", Alia asked.

"Something doesn't feel right. Hey, Alia? Those words in capitals. Like the word 'MAGICIAN'. Were they there before?"

"…I actually don't know.", Alia replied, sounding a bit defeated. "I just recently got this file from the Kirijo Group on the other side of the country, but it was a very fragile subject to them; Signas and Dr. Cain of all people had to strike a rather shady deal with them to get the Group to surrender a copy; they had it held as top secret, along with all other files pertaining to this boy."

"And why's that?", Slash Beast asked gruffly, his right eyelids shutting slightly. The eyepatch-wearing lion Reploid did feel comfortable with how Alia worded her statement. '_The __Kirijo __Group__… __now __where __have __I __heard __that __name __before__…__?_'

"…I'm afraid that information is classified. The only two people who know are Signas and Dr. Cain. Well… this _is_ one more…", Layer said, mumbling the last part.

Wolfang's ears perked. "Who?" Layer mentally cursed. _'__C-Crap!__'_

"…An intern working in the joint human-Reploid hospital sponsored by Dr. Cain; I think his name was… Kurobane Kirijo... but it might just be coincidence…" , Layer stuttered.

-_This __is __Zero! __Maverick __Hunter __HQ, __do __you __read?_-

"This is Alia speaking Zero. What's your status?", Alia asked aloud, hand on her earpiece.

-_Blast Hornet, Launch Octopus and myself just took care of the Mechanoloids. After inspecting them, it turned out other than a little 'present' being left behind, these Mechanoloids were not physically tampered with. Also, I'm happy to report no one was hurt; Blast Hornet got the only potential victim, a 9-year old girl to safety. It was a close call__._-

X sighed in relief.

-_But there was something interesting; one of the Mechaniloids housed a small envelope in the manual cockpit. It's signed to you, X._-

"M-Me?"

-_It reads… 'I hope you all enjoyed my little demonstration. However, I regret to inform you that this is not the mere extent of my power. That was one of many appetizers; the main course has yet to be served, as far as chefs say._

_If you wish to learn more, there is a large bridge pointing in the direction of Iwatodai at the east edge of Abel City; come to the bridge, alone, at 11:55, tonight._

_Come alone; I will know should any reinforcements make the make the wrong choice. Just between us, Reploids who are influenced by my 'gift' don't have the same luxuries of ignorance that Mechaniloids have; free will is both a blessing and a curse after all._

_…The forecast calls for a cloudless night sky; the glorious full moon will shine down on Abel's sleeping body, and the sheep from the foreign land shall flock.'_ -

(Il giudizio finale sta per essere emesso…

Nessuno può emendarsi dal peccato che scorre nelle vene…)

(TRANSLATION: 'The final judgment shall be delivered. Nobody can escape the sin that runs through their very veins.' This is the first lyric to "Katayoku no Tori" (One-Winged Bird), the Opening to the visual-novel and video game-turned anime, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (When the Seagulls Cry), for those curious.)

"What the…?", X mumbled. "So the perp's putting himself in the open, eh? How… _generous_.", Magma Dragoon sneered. He did always enjoy a challege.

"More like deceiving, if you ask me.", came Armored Armadillo. "Even if this guy is human, his letter claims that the berserk Mechaniloids was his 'power'. He also said that Reploids suffer under this power far worse than those without conscious.", he concluded sagely, obviously paying very close attention to the letter.

"So what do we do, huh? I'm itching for a good ol' sting opertation! Heh heh heh…", Sting Chameleon said gleefully.

At this point Commader Signas came into the room, Dr. Cain closely behind him on his cane. Behind him was a 6' young man, possibly his mid 20's with dark rose-colored hair, parting from his right and jutting into four large licks across his skull ridge and over the left side of his head, about 2 inches above his ear, and a large portion draping over the left side of his face. He wore very thin rectangular glasses with a pitch-black frame, barely concealing his blood-red eyes. He wore a lab coat similar to Gate, but was buttoned down past his sternum level, revealing a white dress shirt and black tie. He wore black pants and shoes.

He didn't seem to interested in the Hunter's presence, as if they didn't exist. His stare gave X and Axl a rather queasy feeling.

He then approached Signas and whispered something into his earpiece. Signas nodded and whispered. "It's downstairs, waiting for you."

The male nodded and bowed politely to Dr. Cain, and swiftly walked down the corridor. Sting Chameleon caught the nametag on his left breast pocket read 'Shikikata Kirijo' before the boy turned around.

"Who was that.?", Axl asked, cocking his head. "Oh, don't worry, my boy; he was visiting on business. Nothing too concerning."

Axl wished he could believe that, but something about the split second he eyed the monitor displaying Minato Arisato's profile registered as… 'annoyance?' 'Irritation?' He couldn't quite put his trigger-finger on it.

"Anyway, I caught wind of the Mechaniloid situation, and the two letters recieved. I believe this calls for a sting mission."

"YES!", Sting Chameleon, Magma Dragoon and Flame Stag cheered.

"However, only a small team of highly professional hunters should approach this; one with a variety of skills. I hereby approve of Armored Armadillo, Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, Slash Beast and Blizzard Wolfang, if the latter two especially don't mind."

Neither the lion or wolf Reploids objected; there was a slight touch of eagerness in their expressions.

"Along with X, you will move out tonight at 23:00 hours sharp and station in a stealth formation to prepare the possibilities of ambush and surrounding the target with your various skills. Since X is wanted alone, he'll appear after you five, to give the illusion that he arrived on time, thus lulling our mysterious friend into a false of security."

"I like it.", Blizzard Wolfang grinned. "Let's do it.", X replied.

* * *

><p>March 5, 21XX 11:55 PM (Abel City, East Bridge)<p>

* * *

><p>The large bridge experienced no traffic. The night air was a light cool, a gentle breeze billowing. X stood perfectly still, staring down the opposite entrance. Slash Beast and Armored Armadillo hid on opposite support beams behind X. On the outer sides of the support beams on the opposite side, Blizzard Wolfang and Storm Eagle pressed against the beams, awaiting the 'mystery man' while retaining a level of concealment (Eagle folded his wings, and Wolfang tucked his icicle tail between his legs). Sting Chameleon turned invisible, peering over a towering building across the street from the entrance opposite from the Blue Bomber.<p>

Finally, when X's internal clock struck 11:58, he sighed. "I guess he's a no show."

"I wouldn't jump the gun just yet."

Everyone was on high alert as in the next split second, a 6' or so male figure appeared. None of the Hunters could discern any features, for his face was shrouded by a tan cloak that that shaded his eye level and descended all the way down to his ankles, but a second severely tattered layer draped over the first one, further obscuring any detailing over that that his face revealed pale skin and two symmetrical thick lilac bangs resting over his cheeks. His neck was double wrapped by twin lilac scarves that draped over both shoulders on both sides with all four ends; the first scarf tucked in the first and the second secured the tattered one in place. The figure's mouth was in a smiling position.

'_No __way__…__! __How __did __he __slip __past __me__…__?__'_, Sting Chameleon panicked.

"It seems that you were right on time. I'm impressed. Then again I'm a bit disappointed."

"What are you talking about…?", X asked.

"Don't play dumb; your poker face _sucks_. There are five of your colleagues in hiding all around here; a 3-angle pincer strike if I'm not mistaken. Very clever, I must admit. Sadly it does you know good. And your friends shouldn't get too close. They wouldn't want to… become the next forgotten statistic, would you?"

"Are you… even human…?", X gritted though his teeth. "Shoot me your Buster and find out. That is, if you have the stomach to accept the consequences."

X instantly froze. It was against a Reploid's programming to cause harm towards humans; it was the one thing that kept them from being Maverick; it was like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden; a single bite meant damnation.

The figure smirked. "The moon is certainly stunning tonight. It's glow extends to all corners of the city, bathing it in its luxurious presence."

X's stance relaxed slightly. "What…?"

"You'll find out in 3… 2… 1…"

X's internal clock struck midnight. And for all 6 Reploids, the world turned black and shut down.

The navy blue night sky and pale white moon suddenly turned ghastly shades of green in many blotchy patterns. The moon shone a demonic lime shade. All the power and electricity in the entire city ceased function.

The figure smiled and removed his hood, revealing a young males face with slicked back lilac hair, with four jutting lock of hair; three at 12 o' clock, 3 o' clock and 9 o' clock position from the center of his forehead and ear levels and the collective slick from his hair jotting from the back of his head. The two lilac sideburns connected to the 3 and 9 o'clock hair juts.

"I told you did I not? 'The moon will shine down on the city…' and the sheep will soon flock…'" he said, looking at the moon and raising his arms. "The Dark Hour has returned once more, as has appeared every night since days long past."

He walked off the bridge, passing the unconscious X, Armadillo and Eagle and onto the sidewalk, turning right.

A ornate black coffin lined with rims of the bloodiest red obstructed his path.

"Oh, you poor soul. You walked by as an innocent bystander, blissfully unaware of the events that passed and yet to be… pleasantly asleep in a realm of eternal nightmare, a hell on earth…"

The young man gently placed his hand on the standing coffin, a set of tears escaping both his eyes.

"How I envy you, my friend." Sidestepping the coffin, the lilac-haired man walked down the street whispering, "I can't wait to get to bed… I'm tired…" before vanishing into the darkness of the lightless street.

* * *

><p>"So…", the redhead from before, Shikikata Kirijo, stood in an illustrious office overlooking the city, the lights out like the rest of Abel. His gaze was affixed to the lime-shaded full moon, eyes squinted.<p>

"So… it's begun… the Dark Hour has resumed."

Turning away from the window, he sighed. "Perhaps relinquishing the S.E.E.S profiles wasn't the best idea. But it's not they'll know anytime soon."

Shikikata Kirijo had no idea how wrong he was going to be.

* * *

><p>X's internal computer rebooted. The time read 12:01 AM.<p>

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this rather unique crossover.<p>

There will be official artwork on my deviantART page: yaminetto . deviantart .com

Also feel free just glance through my art. It's not top notch, but then again, nothing really is anymore.

Have a nice day.


	2. CHESSBOARD CHASTITY

DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is a crossover between the series Megaman / Rockman X and [Shin Megami Tensei:] Persona 3 [and MAYBE 4, as it is the sequel]. This franchises are copyrighted by CAPCOM and ATLUS respectively, meaning the only rights to this story is the originality of the plot; however, virtually all characters are already existent, and NOT under my personal ownership. However, there will be a third party of characters that _are_ my creation, which I will reveal as the story goes on to prevent spoilers, most likely at the end. You'll know what I mean.

Also, I wanted to apologize for the long wait; school, family vacation to Israel with no computer, finals, work, such and so forth. Oh, and writer's block; can't forget that.

Anywho, happy reading!

* * *

><p>'<em>Knox's 8th Law: 'It is forbidden for the case to be solved with clues that are not presented or not made into common knowledge to all parties of the mystery.'' – Dlanor A. Knox, Umineko no Naku Koro Ni  Ronald Knox's Decalouge of Mystery Fiction._

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: CHEESBOARD CHASTITY (PLAYER'S OPEING MOVES)<p>

* * *

><p>A light, strange piano tune could be heard. It was faint, but carried an air of serenity to it.<p>

'_Wait a minute… this atmosphere…_'

A pair of metallic blue eyes slowly opened, and the first thing he saw has a large, spacious room, devoured by various shades of blue. The back of the room facing the eyes was a window-like wall panning downward, as if one was witnessing the ascension of an elevator. Only _this_ elevator seemed to go on for eternity.

"Ah. Welcome back.", came a mysterious, male voice. Searching for the source, the eyes fell on a middle-aged looking dwarf of a man with an eccentrically long, pointed nose and spherical bloodshot eyes with black rings layering their edges. We wore a black dress suit from what he could see; his lower half was blocked by the desk he sat in.

To his left stood a rather gorgeous young woman, about short of 6 feet tall, wearing a bluish gown-like torso piece with black hips and five large yellow buttons ringed by a 'dartboard' design of a black ring surrounding the button, surrounded by a blue ring surrounded by a second black one. The five patterns assumed the form of a row of buttons. She black socks past the visible level of the skirt of her dress and long azure boots that reach just past her shins. She wore her platinum-blond hair in a 'expanded-looking bowl cut', with fringes licking at her forehead and cheeks. In her crossed gloves hands, he held a rather thick, brown-covered tome titled 'PERSONA COMPENDIUM'. Her thin, yet warm smile completed her glistening topaz eyes, like a pair of full moon dancing just above the horizon.

"Welcome back… Minato; we missed you."

The figure, Minato blinked twice. He was a young boy of about 17, with semi-long dark blue hair that seemed to drape over the top-right corner of his face, covering his right eye. He wore a white dress shirt, along with a black suit and pants combo, secured by a black string tie. There was a circular patch on his left breast pocket that looked like a black-and-white variant of the BMW automobile insignia. Around his neck was a USB-like trinket dangling from a silver lanyard, reaching just below his sternum. There was a red arm sash secured over his left upper arm by a pair of pins. It read 'S.E.E.S' in black, rimmed by two black lines.

Minato blinked. "…It…can't be…"

Elizabeth blinked. "Minato?"

"If I'm here… then the Great Seal is…", Minato trailed, maintaining his calm, somewhat aloof demeanor.

"Not to worry my boy!", Igor chirped, being somewhat more charismatic than when he usually visited the Velvet Room. Minato cocked a brow at the thought. "You see, after a series of events in which mankind has evolved, human life had begun to prosper; humans did experience miniature, yet somewhat devastating trifles with mechanical creations of theirs – known to the current day as 'Reploids' – but to my personal relief, things finally patched up thanks to the valiant efforts of Reploids who stop the berserk actions of rogue Reploids dubbed 'Maviericks'. The Maverick Hunters, the affiliation sworn to protect the human race from said Mavericks, have strived to achieve that goal to the bitter end. Although I do not identify with how their processes are akin to the human soul – the souls capable of Persona – I nonetheless am truly impressed by its likeness. Especially the one who almost single-handedly averted eight wars; the one named 'X', the metaphoric 'father' of all Reploids, save for a finite few."

"…Uh huh… Anything else I should know…?", Minato asked cautiously. This caught Igor's attention; Igor knew that Minato, given his abilities as the Wild Card, had sharpened senses and keen intelligence, but to see through Igor's poker face – a nearly-arduous task for even Elizabeth – was quite astounding to Philemon's right hand man (NOTE: In the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona universe, Philemon is a omnipotent, yet benevolent god who sides with the main cast of Persona 1 and 2, but does not directly assist them; Igor helps them in his stead.).

He smiled. "Nothing gets by you anymore, doesn't it? Very well; Elizabeth? If you would?"

"Why don't you let _them_ tell you?", Elizabeth said, gesturing to behind Minato. Turning around, Minato's eyes glimmered with both shock and joy.

The entire group of S.E.E.S. was standing behind him, full of smiles.

Junpei Iori, Fuuka Yamagishi, Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, Ken Amada, Aigis, Koromaru and…

"Minato… you're really here…", came a rather emotional Yukari Takeba. Another thing Minato silently noted was that they were wearing the same clothing from when they fought Nyx.

"I guess I am, but… what are you doing here…?", Minato asked. '_How did they learn of the Velvet Room? Was it when Aigis…?_'

Akihiko, the intelligent boxer with the bandage on the left side of his left eye, chuckled. "I think Elizabeth-san's the most appropriate one to answer that; she _did_ bring us here."

"…", came Minato's dead stare, a slight sweatdrop on his cheek. "You're all not seriously gonna play tag with this are, you…?"

"No, Minato-san.", came Ken, the youngest member of the group. "We came because Elizabeth-san told us something you… well…"

"Well…?", Minato asked, tilting his head slightly. '_I got a bad feeling about this…_'

"Minato, I'll be frank. In the future… about 200 years from our time… Nyx will be released. The Great Seal you created using your soul was destroyed; there was nothing even Elizabeth or Igor-san could do.", Mitsuru said flatly, not an ounce of deception in her voice of any kind – she was quite firm on this statement.

Minato's eyes – or visible eye – shrunk considerably. "…What did you say…?"

Akihiko, the short-silver-haired boxer with his signature red vest, black gloves and bandage over his left eye, stepped forward. "I'm afraid it's no joke. Would Mitsuru of all people lie about something this serious?"

"…Point noted.", Minato replied, feeling defeated. After all, he _died_ to forever seal away Nyx. And even though Nyx itself was considered a benevolent deity, she could answer man's call for extinction at any point after release.

"…So what happened, dare I ask?" "Well, Minato-kun… about that…", came Fuuka Yamagishi, the sea green-haired support specialist. "Not even Igor-san knows."

"Which brings me to my next question. How exactly _did_ you learn of the Velvet Room, the area we're standing in?"

"We first did… through me.", Aegis replied. "Shortly after you died, the time and space around the dorm was distorted by our strong desire to see you again, which eventually awakened my ability to use the Wild Card, and all of your Personas; the first was Orpheus."

Minato was surprised. '_Other people can use a second person's Persona? I know it's Aegis, but is that even possible…?_' Meanwhile, Ken looked down at his feet, remembering how Metis, Aegis's other half nearly killed him in a misunderstanding before Aegis magically summoned Orpheus. Koromaru, the Shiba Inu, whined.

"It's true.", came Elizabeth. "But that's besides the point. Why don't I show you why you're all really here…?"

Igor nodded as he materialized a deck of cards, rectangular (about 3 x 9 inches), and shades of blue in color. The cards shuffled on their own, and with a flick of the elderly, creepy-looking divine aid of the blue-haired Wild Card, the top seven cards panned out in a hexagonal shaped, and then its center. Igor snapped his fingers and the card left of the center.

The image revealed a pale lemon crescent moon facing the left, with the points of the crescent touching and the inside of the crescent showing a Renaissance painting like expression facing left, sporting a large triangular nose. It was layered on top pf a navy blue circle, surrounding 4 curved panes of lime sea green and cyan stained glass. The top border sported a shadow picture of a scorpion between two small black pillars, their shadows leering to the right.

"Hmmm… Arcana XVIII… The Moon. This represents mystery, or a strange turn of events guided by unknown forces… Interesting; that's exactly how I predicted it would turn out, given the nature of what's going on…"

"You mean you actually _know_ what's going on?", asked Akihiko, a slight tone of impatience in his voice. "Then why the hell haven't you said it outright?"

"Patience, Akihiko Sanada, my boy. In honesty, I know just as much as you do. And given that I am a man who prides on properly guiding my guests to the Velvet Room…", he trialed, eying Minato. "…I firmly believe in not leaving my client or his allies to venture blindly; as I say… 'Knowledge is the seed of all achievements. And understanding is the soil to let it grow. Thus, the tree of enlightenment is birthed, baring the fruit to nourish the land that is life itself.' And in this case, it's all the more important."

"You mean to say that you are capable of understanding all events in the human realm through Tarot readings, but for whatever reason, your… - 'inability' for argument's sake – of being able to fully grasp the situation is troubling enough to take such drastic measures as to invite more than one person into the… 'Velvet Room', was it? Or am I off key in my understandably rude boast?", asked Mitsuru, a hint of authority in her voice.

Igor chuckled, seemingly delighted in her seemingly elegant spunk. "Not at all, my dear. Quite frankly, you've hit it on the mark. I _don't_ usually allow the allies of a Wild Card such as Master Minato into the Velvet Room unless there were… shall we say 'extreme' circumstances?"

Koromaru barked four times. "Koromoaru says 'Otherwise you wouldn't have brought us here?'.", Aigis roughly translated. Although not perfect, being a sentient cyborg capable of understanding the Shiba Inu pup's speech pattern had some advantages; enhanced durability aside.

"…How _did_ you guys get in here, anyway?", asked Minato point blank.

Truth be told, everyone in the room silently knew it was a fair question to the newly resuscitated blunette.

"I don't remember… I'm sorry.", came Fuuka. "Me neither, dude. It's a bit of a blur…", replied Junpei, who placed a hand on his forehead.

"I… vaguely remember the clock struck midnight… and we all fell asleep at the same time…", Yukari trialed out loud. "And then… there was… uh…"

"A flash of dark blue light? I remember that.", Ken piped. And I could have sworn I saw a figure who looked a _lot_ like Elizabeth-san."

Elizabeth nodded. "Mr. Amada is correct." Ken's ears perked; that was the first time a grown person – if you could even _call_ a demigod like Elizabeth such a thing – a formality with such respect; the preteen blushed slightly.

"My apologies for having to do so, but you've never been to the Velvet Room before, and your bodies could not have handled the subconscious transfer into this realm between reality and thought, so I had to invite you all while sleeping in the real world; because Minato has done it countless times – and has a power plant's worth of mental power and magic to support numerous Persona, I guess you could say he's used to it; however, accessing the Velvet Room still makes him fall asleep on his feet while using out entrance at the Paulownia Mall…"

"So _that's_ why you always go near there! I always thought you were scouting for chicks, you little rascal, you!", Junpei laughed, messing Minato's hair playfully with one hand as the blunette sat in his harp-shaped chair.

"Ugh… boys…", Yukari muttered, darting her gaze away from the baseball-capped Magician Arcana Persona user. Then something occurred to the Lovers Arcana user in pink.

"So that means… our bodies are still in the old dorm where we met up?", Yukari inquired.

"Formerly speaking, yes.", Igor replied, flipping over the middle card.

"Hmm… how strange…", came Igor, a perplexed look on his face. His rubbed the butt of his gloved right palm against his cheek, leaning on his elbow in a mystified expression.

Elizabeth cocked a brow and walked to Igor's table, and turned to the SEES members.

"The Wheel of Fortune, right side up. This symbolizes great influence of fate and destiny, and can also be interpreted as a sign of great fortune, prosperity, riches of some kind… even the end of strife, suffering and war. But at the same time, it conflicts with the meaning of the Moon."

"How'd ya figure that, Liza-tan?", Junpei asked. Elizabeth blinked twice before she realized that she was given one of Junpei Iori's famed nicknames. She reacted with a miniscule blush and turned her head towards the cards.

"Y-you see, the Moon represents a form of spirituality – usually involving intellect, epiphany, understanding or involvement of mystery, etc. However, the Wheel of Fortune is more concerned about fate – the exact opposite of mortal ability to understand oneself; in other words-"

"This fortune has conflicting meanings…?", Aegis piped up.

"Precisely!", Igor cheered, truly joyful that everyone was on the same page. "It's just that this kind of reading thrills me in a sense, as it never really happens. But as I see it, without the last card – the future – I cannot fully discern the meaning of this phenomenon."

And so, he flipped the last card. His already shrunken eyes dilated in shock. "This… can't be right…"

Elizabeth peeked at the card, a hand cupping her mouth in shock. "Arcana XX – Judgment, right side up…!"

"I take it that's bad…?", Fuuka asked nervously. Akihiko gulped.

"When Judgment is concerned, it involves trial and tribulation, a state of when one is at a crossroads, or even things like accountability, making actions – essentially being as if judged by God himself. But in conjunction with the Moon and Wheel of Fortune – all right side up… your fortune, in short, is… 'A great ordeal, mysterious and strange, shall befall the future ahead, plagued with clashes of rivalries and alliances alike. As the light of miracles shines upon the metal land, the shadow of the dark moon slowly threatens to arise again. Only by sealing the lust for the end once more shall all of time be spared a fate worse than extinction.'

"…That was in short? I'd hate to hear the longer version…", Junpei gaped. Yukari facepalmed. "Idiot."

"So… you're saying… Nyx broke out in the future, and I'm back from the dead to stop it again…?", Minato asked, cocking his head.

"…You're taking this surprisingly well.", Igor commented.

"Meh.", Minato shrgged. "I've seen and heard weirder."

"Then you'll _love_ this.", Elizabeth replied. "Your collective destination will be Iwatodai 200 years from now, which became a burrow of a larger settlement dubbed 'Abel City' where Reploids – sentient cyborgs with human-like qualities, of which look both humanoid and animalistic – and humans were once at war due to a computer-based viral outbreak. It was because of three brave human-protecting Reploids – X, Zero and Axl – that the greatest threats to the world, such as the Mavericks – Reploids who reject the programming forbidding harm to humans or surrender to their darkest desires and go berserk – and their leader, Sigma – a former general of the Maverick Hunters, the organization whose role in society is to keep the balance between humans and Reploids, along with the disposal of Mavericks. Many, many lives were lost."

Everyone became quite solemn.

"However, in recent months, the viruses and their variants have been cured, and all victimized Reploids were revived, and now have formed a symbiotic bond with humans again, as a way to atone for their berserk actions."

Elizabeth smiled. "In a way, the Hunters parallel you all a lot."

The details took a minute to sink in. Then Ken raised his hand, as if he were in a classroom; then a again, he _was_ in 6th Grade.

"Um, question: What exactly are we to do? If the Maverick outbreaks were finally put to an end and everything's become all peachy, why do you need us exactly?"

Igor nodded sagely, a closed-eyed grin on the long-nosed man's face. "Mr. Amada, you raise a rather good point. You see, my boy, while it is true that the bloodshed and battles have at last ceased, the scars of the past can never be healed. Too much animosity between the rampaging Mavericks and victimized humans have weakened Nyx's seal during that time. Due to the state of flux in the seal, I was able to free you from the Great Seal 200 years from now, while Nyx is still trapped behind the Seal, unable to be set free."

"…'Kay… But if Nyx is still trapped while Minato-kun is here… isn't that a good thing? Now Minato can be alive again and Nyx can't break free. Isn't that the case…?", came Fuuka.

Igor hummed for a second before responding "Well, yes and no… While what you say _is_ sound – not mention nothing short of a miracle – there still lies a great risk."

"That being?", Mitsuru inquired.

"In the future, there are a scattered group of humans whose lives were so devastated by the Maverick wars that it unlocked special powers. _Persona_ powers."

A collective wave of shock washed over SEES like a a tidal wave.

"What the hell?", blurted Junpei. "Is that true?", screeched Yukari.

"I'm afraid so. And even with the Maverick Hunters keeping the peace around the world, and all sentient is mostly absolved of the hatred from the wars, there are some whose lust for vengeance is so great they keep the wound to the Great Seal fresh. What worse is that their mastery of Persona and Persona techniques are so advanced that no Reploid – or a human without a Persona – could stand a chance.", Elizabeth said as if saddened.

"Which means were the ones right for the job.", Minato said flatly.

"Unfortunately, yes.", Elizabeth concluded. "However, it's not like you're going there alone, and without any assistance."

"We're going to the future…? Doesn't that seem a bit… what's the word… 'cliché'?", asked Aegis.

"Fear not. I've arranged everything for your arrival. Including special ID's registering you as residents of the present day, proper currency deposits, a supply of weapons and items such as Revival Beads and Snuff Souls to keep you prepared for the Dark Hour returning-"

"WHAT?", roared Mitsuru and Akihiko.

"You gotta be kidding! How are you so sure?", Junpei asked loudly.

Minato stood from his lyre-shaped chair. "They already alluded to it, actually. Remember what they were talking about?"

"You mean in reference to racial hatred and those with Personas?", Junpei asked meekly. "Come to think of it, it actually makes a lot more sense if the Dark Hour was involved…"

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Fuuka.", Yukari replied. "What he said, anyway."

It surprised Minato for a second that Yukari of all people agreed with Junpei, but at desperate times like this, who actually cared?

"I also forgot to mention that there is proper lodging for you all at a rather nice apartment suite complex. A four-bedroom apartment with full-fledged kitchen and living room, patio on the top floor… oh, and it allows pets, so don't worry about Koromaru-kun.", Elizabeth smiled. Koromaru barked happily.

"So, what exactly do we do…?", asked Akihiko.

"Simply put, enlist the help of the Maverick Hunters and find the ones responsible for bringing back the Dark Hour.", replied Igor. "Especially since now they've been affected by it."

"You mean since they're mechanical?", asked Ken.

"Yes, but that's not what I refer to.", Igor replied. "I believe it's something you will have to experience for yourself. And worry not about your mortal bodies and your education in the present time; Elizabeth took care of that for you." Elizabeth gave off a sheepish grin.

"Well… let's go.", Minato spoke. Everyone nodded.

* * *

><p>The internal clock in X's systems registered as 12:01 AM. He had the feeling like he's been asleep for days. Then it hit him.<p>

'_Where's that guy from a minute ago…?_' Then something else occurred to him. '_The others!_'

He raced to Storm Eagle and Armored Armadillo's location. X wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Eagle and Armadillo were unconscious, but that wasn't the problem.

Both of them had compressed to human size, about 6 feet tall, Armadillo's body became skinnier, Eagle's talons shrunk to the size of human feet…

And were human from the neck up. Armadillo had purple hair that crowned like a widened V over his forehead via twin strands of hair and a hairline at his forehead; his hair had many split ends that serrated from a part on his right and headed left, in which his follicles . He sported armadillo-like ears atop his scalp. Eagle had rather shaggy, yet silky and pretty-by-like purple hair with split ends sleeking back, in which the fringe of hair above and around his eyes were dyed yellow, and retained the red marks on the outside of his eyes, plus a sleek yellow horizontal strip across his nose. (Think of Eagle's facial design.) a large ivory bird feather poked from the center of the hair around his forehead. Both had peach skin.

Other than that, they retained the physical features of their Reploid selves; including Armadillo's tail and Eagles wings and feet.

"What the hell…?", X gaped.

'_The hell is going on…? –gasp- The others!_'

Running to where Sting Chameleon fell over the roof of the building he perched on, X looked in astonishment. His body experienced the same phenomenon as Armadillo and Eagle, but Chamelon's change was slightly different.

Normally, Chameleon had two-toed hands with large gauntlets, and his lower body's groin and leg area was at an inhuman angle, like he was constantly arching his legs like a staple-shape. However, his legs were position as if his legs stood erect, and his forearms were green cylindrical gauntlets with a slab of armor with two pronging toes similar to his original form for forearms, with white hands; it reminded X of Armadillo's design, which retained his shields. In addition, his hair was a neon green similar in shade to his armor, the crown of his head sprouting 5 thick prongs, and a long trail of hair draping diagonally over the left side of his face; when X looked carefully, he spotted the strings of a medical eye patch over Chameleon's left eye.

Sting retained everything about his original form, including his sleek armoring, the spikes on his spine and tail – which was proportional to his body's size -, the blue plating over his chest and stomach, and the black spandex-like armoring over his forearms and legs. He was curled slightly into a ball, lying on his right side.

Looking over his shoulder, he ran to where Blizzard Wolfang and Slash Beast were laying.

These two went under similar humanistic changes. However, Wolfang had wild – yet fluffy – cyan hair with purple lupine ears (the inner ears were yellow), while Slash Beast's orange hair was shaped similarly to his original self's mane, with a fringe of white locks along the crown of his hairline, giving off a muzzle-like touch to his hear, and had golden-brown lion ears poking out of his hair; he also sported a blue eye patch over his left eye.

"Th-this is X!", the Blue Bomber spoke into his transceiver. "I repeat! This is X? Hunter HQ, do you copy?"

"_Alia reading you loud and clear, X! What's going on?"_

"Get a team of Hunters and Lifesavers down here; you guys are NOT gonna believe what just happened.", X said silently.

"_Like what?_", came Palette.

"…Let's just say a picture's worth a thousand words…"

* * *

><p>30 minutes later, 12:31 AM – Hunter Base<p>

* * *

><p>"I still don't see why this is really necessary…", a rough, rebellious-sounding teenage male voice grumbled. What was visible of the source was a pair of flickering rounded feline-like ears.<p>

"I don't let this any more that you do, but you don't see me complaining.", replied a sagely, mid-20's-like voice replied, the only thing seen being a bird-like left foot, tapping lightlty.

"I agree. For all we know, this state could have detrimental consequences on our state of being; it's best to walk before you run, as they say.", can a slightly brutish – reserved - sounding voice interjected, the only thing that can be seen in a purple forearm gauntlet with a small lilac-colored steel shield mounted on it, with a white gloved hand massaging its pointer finger on the source's chin, revealing mount-like armor of the same lilac steel around his neck, with black cloth material veiling his neck. There was a small shot of purple bangs at the nape of his neck.

Meanwhile, a shot of the left side of a face whose left eye was shielded by neon-green hair that shone brightly in the room, along with seeing two strings tied past the ear; the owner's tongue then stuck out playfully. "Yeah, Slash; or would you prefer we'd be zombies or something?"

"…Zombies…?", came a fifth voice, the source showing to have lilac lupine ears atop his wildly plentiful ice-blue hair which jutting in large fat locks in many directions; the inner ears were a lemony yellow. The ears twitched lightly as he had just spoke. "_Please_ tell me you're not actually serious, you childish lizard boy."

"Hey! I don't need lip from a mutt who's always at that kooky labcoat's beck-and-call, ice boy!", the green-haired male rudely lashed back.

"What was that, you tongue-lashing pervert?", the lupine-eared male seethed, raising an ice blue- clawed fist, the forearm held by a lilac gauntlet.

"Need I spell it out for you? You're like a stupid puppy, always following your master for a doggie treat. Ya gonna do tricks for us, now? _Well_?", came the green-armored one with the immature attitude.

"You sonnuva-!", roared the wolf-like young man before a pair of hands – one at a time, grabbed both of the bickering boneheads and lightly crashed them into each other, a look of pain gracing their faces, revealing them to be Sting Chameleon and Blizzard Wolfang's partially humanized forms. Having human skulls connect has got to hurt more than metallic shelling.

As both Reploids turned half-human furiously rubbed the red spots atop the bridges of their noses, the one responsible for their bruise-cruising – Armored Armadillo, whose human face showed his purple hair being partially covered and his eyeline shadowed, giving his dark raspberry eyes an even more malevolent feeling to his stare; his left eye was twitching lightly in a '1, 1-2' pattern as he was cracking his gloved knuckles.

"Can you two _please_ shut up? It's bad enough that we don't know what happened to us and that the suspense is killing us, but when you two are bickering like children over candy, I'm staring to lose my patience. So kindly sit down and shut up before I get _really_ mad.", came the armadillo-eared purple-headed Reploid-turned-human… with animal ears. The way his hair was shaped gave off the impression of a silky purple fireball whose tail is whizzing out to Armadillo's left, and which left a small, triangular mullet at the nape of his neck, thick locks blocking sight of his human ears. This gave his threat the felling like he was a dark comet about to crash into the two irritants in the shield-plating teenage-like male's eyes.

Blizzard Wolfang, who was wearing a headband and sported a haircut similar to his original form's forehead and icicles for a mane (ears included), gulped lightly, whilst Sting Chameleon, whose neon green hair resembled a chameleon's head-crown (in seven thick spikes) and was wearing a medical eye patch under the hair masking the left side of his face, was sweating bullets.

Armadillo sighed, followed by a Lifesaver entering the room, accompanied by Zero, Iris (the two were holding hands walking in) and The Skiver (The Pegasus Reploid decided that he would accompany them – particularly Iris, to ease Colonel's troubled mind over Iris's safety aka Zero's possible 'advancements', in addition to making sure nothing happened to her, with Zero's help, in case something went down in Abel City during her visit; her purpose in Abel was to see Slash Beast and ascertain his condition, as Colonel was tied up with work near the ocean spread between the American States Hawaii and California, accompanied by part of the Sea Force and Jet Stingray, whom were investigating strange tectonic plate movement to make perfectly sure if an earthquake was coming or not. That, and General was far too big to move about the Hunter Base without sufficient collateral damage.).

"Slash Beast! Are you alright?", asked Iris sweetly, the same doting way she addressed Colonel.

Slash Beast, whose fleshly lion ears drooped, sighed, placing a clawed palm to his cheek. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, Iris. So what brings you guys here…?"

Clearly, Slash Beast felt embarrassed, something a Reploid modeled after the King of Beasts would not exactly like, fearing them looking rather like shy cubs. Iris, however, giggled into her left hand. "Aw, that's so cute~! It's like he's a little kitte—Oh!", Iris gasped as she picked up on the lion-like half-human… entity looking totally flustered, his nose line a revealing rose from blushing in embarrassment. Sting Chameleon snickered into his gloved hands, while Armdillo, Wolfang, who grimaced and Eagle, whom had facepalmed, sighed.

Fearing Slash Beast about to spiral into a depression, Iris instinctively jumped onto Skiver's back, the Pegasus Reploid almost falling over in recoil. "What th-"

Iris quickly placed her lips to the flying horse's ears and whispered 'Follow my lead; I have a plan.'

To avoid suspicion, Skiver winked back as Zero stood there, incredulous. The Lifesaver merely stared, no emotion registered on his face.

"HI HO SKIVER! AWAAAAAYY~~~!", Iris called out as Skiver held onto Iris' legs as he ran around the room's open space in circles, with Skiver neighing gracefully every few ceconds for the next half a minute.

Slash Beast just stood there, shocked by such buffoonery from two members of the Repliforce. Sure, Iris and Skiver were considered young, but they weren't _Vanishing Gungaroo_ and _Axl_ young, were they? At least, _mentally_, he hoped.

Still, Slash Beast humored them with a small chuckle, prompting Skiver to lightly place the Repliforce princess on the ground.

"That was… an original way for cheering up…", Zero commented out loud. "So, Eagle. How's the human-esque body doin' you?"

The purple-and-blonde-haired recipient of the comment (whose hair had many split ends slicked back to allude the image of an eagle's plumage) shrugged. "So far, can't complain. Nothing bad seems to be coming out of this as of yet… plus, having a human frame has an advantage for most animal-based Reploids don't; they're far less bulky, and less heavy. Y'know… takes up less space."

"In a way, I agree.", Armadillo chimed in. "I feel far lighter that I normally and my armor feels far more flexible. But the ears are an issue…", he sighed, pointed at the twin purple armadillo ears atop his scalp.

"And since I have hands, holding things are a lot easier now.", Chameleon beamed.

"…And _that_ didn't sound perverted…?", muttered Wolfang, cocking a brow.

"Yes. That leaves the diagnosis.", the Lifesaver said as his eyes scanned the electromagnetic clipboard in his hand.

"According to this, there is, by human and Reploid means, absolutely nothing physically wrong with you, other that somehow attuning to a more… shall we say 'standard' anatomy?"

"You mean like a human's frame? But why so specific…?"", asked Chameleon, twirling his left pointer finger in his locks blocking his eye.

"Would you prefer a body the size of _Flame Mammoth_?", asked Lifesaver emotionlessly.

Everyone else in the room winced and/or shuddered.

"Don't even _joke_ about that.", Skiver chided, eyes half-open from wincing.

"Yes. Well…", Lifesaver continued. "…There _appears_ to be actual side effects… but it seems we all are suffering some sort of memory loss from about midnight till now; no one seems to recall anything pertaining the mission at the Moonlight Bridge near Iwatodai."

Then it hit Armadillo, Eagle, Beast, Wolfang and Chameleon lit a ton of bricks. '_That cloaked human!_'

"Wasn't X the one to see that guy's face?", Wolfang asked aloud.

"'That guy?'", asked Zero before realizing they were talking about whom Signas and Cain had dubbed 'Suspect 0'. '_According to X's report, he stood before X until precisely midnight, and found himself waking from unconsciousness at about 12:01 AM. But that doesn't make a lick of sense! How is someone knocked out for exactly 1 minute that deeply? More importantly, how did that human suddenly vanish off the map and the Hunter Base's systems – and these five's line of sight in mere moments? Something isn't adding up…'_

Suddenly, Zero's communicator went off; he placed his right hand to his ear. "This is Zero."

"_Ah, Zero. This is Red."_ "Red, huh? What's up? Isn't Axl visiting?" "Yes, I asked him to come and brief me on the events in Abel, but more importantly, I should let you know that a powerful electromagnetic cluster appeared on Red Alert's sensors; it looks like a small meteorite crashed near the Moonlight Bridge, on Iwatodai's side – not on Abel City's. You're not gonna believe what we found."

"…Well don't keep me in suspense.", the original Maverick replied.

"…I'd tell you… but I'd rather show you. You're in the med bay, right? There should be a television; turn to channel 4."

Zero looked at Iris, who was the closest to the TV, who nodded. Turning to channel four, she gasped.

The cover story's text read 'Teenagers Found In Crater Site'.

"What the…", Eagle gawked. "Turn it up.", said Chameleon.

* * *

><p>"This is Sanosuke Shidou reporting for ABCity News ('Abel City News), Channel 4. A small meteorite with an uncanny bluish tail has crashed into the beach of Iwatodai's eastern side, about 1 mile west of the Moonlight Bridge and away from the beach shopping district. Member's of the subsection of Maverick Hunters named 'Red Alert' were the first to respond, having found an incredible discovery. It appears that 6 teenagers – 3 male and 3 female -, a young boy, a dog – possibly a Shiba Inu by breed, and what appears to be a highly sophisticated female android. However, Red Alert officials have requested that we do not approach the area in case of anything that <strong>may<strong> go down."

True to the reporter's word, there was Solder Stonekong, arms folded, while Ride Boarski and Snipe Anteator were gently keeping a female tabloid from completely getting around them. Stonekong lightly facepalmed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on the shore down the wooden stairs from the mainland, Splash Warfly stood in the water, facing the ocean to stand guard from the waterside in case some reporters got any ideas, in which Wind Crowrang and Tornado Tonion took to the air, albeit the latter dancing like a dork as he usually does. Red oversaw Axl, Flame Hyenard and Vanishing Gungaroo examining the eight individuals in the crater.<p>

"It seems only one of these guys are machine; the blonde girl. But she's very convincing; enough to have my nose fooled.", commented Hyenard.

"And two of 'em are a puppy and a little kid. This is kinda getting weird, boss.", added Gungaroo, in his child-like voice as he gently flipped over the young boy and the girl with sea-blue hair, while carefully listening for a heartbeat. Thankfully, all of them were alive.

The only one Gungaroo had yet to check was the boy with dark blue hair covering the right side of his face and was wearing headphones and a suit-like school uniform.

But instead of Gungaroo about to check if he was alive, Red Alert was given… a _different_ kind of confirmation.

The boy immediately started groaning and slowly but surely rose his upper body and cupped his face with his left hand.

It was at that point that Axl noticed the silver handgun inside of the blunette's inner left coat pocket, the handle barely jutting out.

"…Agh, my back. Is this what coming back from the dead is like…?", the boy mumbled.

Flame Hyenard blinked. "Uh… are you okay there, kid?"

The boy slowly turned his head and his visible eye shrunk, almost instinctively reaching for the handgun, but stopped. Then Axl realized something.

Blue hair covering the right side… a red armband that read 'S.E.E.S.'… that MP3 Player and headphones around his neck… and that academy insignia on the left breast… could this guy be…?

"…Minato…Arisato…?", Axl asked himself out loud. Red, Hyenard and Gungaroo looked at Axl, then back at the blunette.

The teenager was not amused. "…How do you know my name?"

* * *

><p>Aaaaaaaaand CLIFFHANGER!<p>

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, read and review.

Also, feel free to check out my deviantART gallery (YamiNetto) for artwork based on this story, either titled with "Human Reploid Project" to see the animalistic Reploid's humanlike-designs for this fanfic, or scenes from upcoming chapters under "CES" in the title.

'Till then, I bid you all adieu.


	3. Deranged Epitaphs And Thorough Hysteria

DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is a crossover between the series Megaman / Rockman X and [Shin Megami Tensei:] Persona 3 [and MAYBE 4, as it is the sequel]. This franchises are copyrighted by CAPCOM and ATLUS respectively, meaning the only rights to this story is the originality of the plot; however, virtually all characters are already existent, and NOT under my personal ownership. However, there will be a third party of characters that _are_ my creation, which I will reveal as the story goes on to prevent spoilers, most likely at the end. You'll know what I mean.

* * *

><p><em>The simplest and most obvious cause which can there be assigned for any phenomena, is probably the true one. (David Hume, 1737)<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Deranged Epitaphs And Thorough Hysteria (The Answer is DEATH?)<p>

* * *

><p><em>Minato's POV<em>

Minato blinked. He was sitting on a beach's cove, his school uniform pants now lightly moist from the ocean water absorbed in the pure-white substance. He wondered if all that happened before was a strange dream. I mean, he _was_ dead after he sealed Nyx away, so it all felt like a deranged fantasy to see a cyborg hyena in gold, red and black, a tall and juvenile-looking kangaroo joey-like cyborg splashed virtually in pink, a tall humanoid cyborg with multicolored armor and a scar running over his hollowed right eye, and young cyborg with red hair and black armor who _somehow_ knew his name. Yeah, totally believable upon the moment he awoke to find his allies from S.E.E.S. unconscious on the sandbed.

'… _As believable as Junpei scoring straight A's for a school term._', Minato grimaced.

His eyes trailed back to the redheaded teenager-like figure.

"I'll ask again. How do you know my name, where are we, and what the hell is going on…?", Minato growled ever so lightly, feeling strangely fatigued.

"Mmmf… M…Minato…?", came a stirring voice. Minato turned his head to see Yukari slowly sit up, rubbing her left eye with her left hand, the hair in her way being brushed to the side. "Where are…"

As soon as the girl came to the realization that her blouse was wet, she shrieked a bit. "M-my blouse is wet…! Wait… are we on a beach…?"

"Do you have any memory of what happened before you al got here, asked the redheaded cyborg, Axl, who knelt to the girl's side.

The girl, Yukari Takeba, was surprised by his appearance. Then she looked around to see Flame Hyenard, Vanshing Gungaroo and Red, looking directly at her.

Externally, she appeared as a surprised teenager. Internally, she was processing just what the hell is going on. Then she remembered that limbo-like dream last night when everyone was in that Velvet Room place.

Then she studied the four mechanical figure near her. Clearly Hyenard and Gungaroo here antromorpic, with a human-like frame, along with Red and Axl appearing humanoid. Then it hit her.

"Rep…loids…?", Yukari whispered unconsciously. Axl picked this up and asked "Have you… never seen a Reploid before…?"

Taken back by such a randomly direct question, Yukari's neck jerked in Axl's direction, a surprised look in her hazel eyes.

This confirmed Axl's suspicion. This girl's features look suspiciously familiar to one of the girl's profiles that he saw about 12 hours ago. That, and her expression read that her answer would be 'no'.

At this juncture, Axl had no choice but to use the direct approach. If the blue-haired boy's name is Minato – as in Minato Arisato – and this girl's profile matches the one from earlier, then she's…

"…Yukari…Takeba…?", asked Axl unconsciously, not realizing he said it out loud.

Yukari's eyes shrunk. "H-how did you-?", she gaped as she reached for an object in her dress shirt pocket.

Gungaroo, Hyenard and Red's expressions turned to shock when Yukari pulled out her Evoker, which to Red Alert looked like a gleaming silver handgun.

"What the…?", Gungaroo gasped as Hyenard instinctively ran towards Yukari and tackled her while spinning to avert the full use of his body weight, and pinned her down b y sitting on her legs with his lower legs, and held down her arms at her wrists.

"What the _hell_ are you…?", both Hyenard and Yukari yelled before both of them realized they spoke at the same time. Using this distraction, Hyenard swiped the Evoker from her hand, fearing that it was a loaded gun to use as a weapon.

It was then that Hyenard realized something; the Evoker he took felt lighter than a normal handgun. Come to think of it, it didn't even look like a gun from 21XX; with was a gun you can find in the early 21st century.

That confirmed to the fire-element canine Reploid that these teenagers were not from this area; let alone this time. It would be strangely convenient for these kids to be assuming the likeness of a group of teens a hundred years past their time, harboring antique guns that…

'_Wait a minute…_', Hyenard pondered. He took another gander at the Evoker, and jiggled it lightly in his hand.

'_This handgun… it's pretty light for a firearm. Wait a minute. I don't see a compartment for loading bullets! What kind of gun is this?'_

"Hey! Give that back!", Yukari chided, swiping the Evoker back in a quick movement. "This isn't a toy for you guys to play with!"

"Then what is it?", asked Red, who slowly walked over to where Yukari and Minato were at, the one-eyed 'Grim Reaper' sporting an impatient expression. Red then noticed the imprint in the barrel of the handgun.

It read 'S.E.E.S.' Then something clicked in Red's head.

''_S.E.E.S.'? Wasn't that the name of the group these kids were a part of from Axl's report…? What the hell do these kids have to do with the Mechaniloid attack and the ambush on X's group not even an hour ago? Damn it, 'the hell's going on here?_'

At this point, a muffled set of noises could be heard. Turning their heads, Minato and Yukari see Akihiko, Mitsuru, Junpei, Ken, Aigis and Koromaru slowly awaken, all rather groggy.

"Did anyone catch the number on that elevator…?", Junpei asked groggily.

"I—What the hell?", Akihiko gawked as immediately discarded his funk and rose, standing into a fighting stance, fists raised.

Aeigs silently stood beside him, her fingers silently turning into bullet turrets.

"I think we got hostiles…!", Flame Hyenard grunted, also going into a fighting stance; he didn't actually _want_ to hurt humans, but they seemed to really be in a fighting mood. 'Specially the silver-haired pretty boy with the boxer build and scar over his left eye.

The girl however – well, the android, really looked lifelike up close and personal. HE almost mistook her for a human. That was, if he ignored the high concentration of metals comprising her person on his scanners.

"A-Aigis-san, Akihiko-senpai! Can't we talk this over?", asked the small boy, Ken. The puppy, Koromaru, barked twice.

"Waitaminute… did we make it?", asked Junpei, the baseball cap-wearing, buzz-cut and five-o-clock shadowed kid gawked. "Are we in the right place…?"

"It seems that way.", Mitsuru deduced. Then the Kirijo princess carefully studied Red, Gungaroo, Axl, and Hyenard. "Question is… 'Are these 'Reploids' trustworthy… or are they enemies?"

Axl cocked his head, incredulous. '_How far are these guys behind the times…?_ _Wait… if they __**aren't**__ from here… then how they get here…?_'

At this point one last muffling sound was heard. It was Fuuka, slowly blinking as he sat up and suddenly gasped. "-gasp- I'm sensing several unidentified presences, you guys!" At this point, she turned to see Gungaroo innocently staring at her about five feet from her personal space, squatting down. "Hi!", he beamed innocently.

Fuuka 'Eep!''d lightly. Then it registered to her that these mechanical animaloids were the Reploids she heard of from Igor and Elizabeth.

"Um… hi?", she replied to Gungarro sheepishly as he helped her up.

"Name's Vanishing Gungaroo.", he smiled. Clearly this was his way of making peace with S.E.E.S. at this point, much to Ken's relief; the youngest member of their group didn't want to go to the future to start on the wrong foot.

Fuuka smiled politely. "Fuuka. Fuuka Yamagishi.", she said with a certain poise.

Akihiko lowered his fists. "…Sorry 'bout the whole 'fighting type' thing I just did. It's a force of habit."

"Judging by your stance and poise, I take it you're an experience fighter. Let me guess: you're a boxer, correct?", asked Red.

"Nicely deducted. But I'm also not one who's shy from the books, either. Then again, Mitsuru here's the valedictorian; I'm just an intellectual understudy.", he smirked.

"Brains and brawn, eh? Good combo.", Red chuckled. Axl then pointed to the handgun Hyenard was examining in Yukari's hand.

"So, uh, what are those…?", asked the orange-haired Reploid.

All of the teenagers remained silent. Axl didn't like this. Suddenly, his communicator went off.

"_Axl? This is Zero. What's your status? I just saw the news with some of the others. What's happening on your end?"_

Axl sighed. Damn news got here _way_ too early to ascertain a simple answer. A couple of teenagers carrying weird handguns and have little knowledge of Reploids? Who's gonna by _that_ story?

"That's what I'm finding out. Y'know what, I got 7 teenagers and a dog with me – well, 6 six teenagers and a well-designed android that really fooled us into thinking she's human. I think we should have some of the higher-ups look at 'em. I don't know if they got hit on the head or anything."

"_Why not send them to a human hospital? Well, 'cept for the dog and android, I guess…_"

"Thing is…", Axl carried on. "There are some things I think don't add up. These guys showed up about an hour after that weird incident took place at the Moonlight Bridge so—"

'_The Moonlight Bridge…?_', thought Minato. "Um… excuse me…?"

Axl broke off his quote in mid-thought, earning Red's, Hyenard's and Gungaroo's attention to the blunette.

"Did you just say 'Moonlight Bridge'? As in Iwatodai, Japan's Moonlight Bridge?"

A wave of surprise expressions washed over the Red Alert members. By that time, Splash Warfly and Wind Crowrang came in via the ocean and sky from their patrols. Their arrivals took Yukari by surprise, but said nothing.

'_More of 'em, huh?_', Junpei thought, bending his neck down slightly, masking an eye from the bill of his hat.

"Splash Warfly reporting.", the aquatic Reploid saluted. "Nothing peculiar located in the surrounding shores, sir."

"Same here in the skies, boss.", came Crowrang, the black avian Reploid as he lightly landed on the sandy surface of the lightly damp ocean shore. "Hm? Are these…?"

"Yep.", the one-eyed 'Grim Reaper' replied. "The very same who 'washed ashore' a while ago."

He then looked squarely in Minato's eyes. "You asked us earlier why we knew your name? Thing is, before I say anything, you should you that a boy your age that had the same name died 200 years ago, right?"

"… Funny thing about that…", Minato sighed.

Red's singular eye widened. Were these kids… the real deal…? What the _hell_ is going on?

Mitsuru stood up and stepped forward towards Axl and Red, an icy, light glare in her visible eye.

"You claim to have information on us. However, you said you knew that Aigis was not human, and knew that Minato died young. Those bits of information were top secret. How did you find out? Depending on your answer, I may or may not be happy to hear it."

'Was this chick serious?' was the collective expression the Red Alert squad's faces. But something told Red and Axl that perhaps this composed young woman – hell, all of these guys – have been through a _lot_ of shit and could take them down if they had the opportunity.

Red and Axl looked at each other nervously. Red was pretty much unfazed by Mitsuru's quip, but Axl was a little uneasy. Perhaps it was girl troubles…?

"Maybe showing you would be a better option. That way you can see and judge for yourselves.", Red suggested. "Crowrang. Lead the way to the transport. I'll be right there after I message MMHQ."

"Roger that.", the crow Reploid nodded. "Alright, kids. This way. And watch your step; it's a bit rocky up ahead."

Ken sighed at the use of the word 'kids' in particular, but shrugged it off. Koromaru yipped once and looked up at Minato, who seemed to be struggling to stand. Junpei knelt and slung Minato's arm over his shoulders.

"You okay?", asked Hyenard. Junpei shot the flame canine a grin and a peace sign.

"It's all good. Ol' Minato here gets real sleepy real easily. Look away for one second and he'll be in Snooze City before you know it."

"So he's a na-… nar-cul-a… um, what's the word?", asked Gungaroo to himself, placing a gloved paw to his muzzle.

"I think the word you may be looking for is 'narcoleptic'?", asked Fuuka politely, but with a hint of nervousness. It was probably her feeling slightly at unease by this scenario; Akihiko and Yukari silently felt the same way, being surrounded by animaliod robots and yet to see one of their own species as of yet.

Koromaru and Aigis didn't seem to mind; they, at the very least, were captivated in some way. Y'know, one being an android and the other a puppy and all.

Back to Junpei, he silently thanked Minato's lazy habits of falling asleep sometimes to make an on-the-spot white lie like that. Mitsuru silently praised the baseball cap-wearing lad with the peach fuzz for stepping in to fill a possible gap in their façade.

It was pretty obvious that these 'Reploids' of 'Red Alert', if Misturu heard correctly, knew a certain amount of who they were, confirmed by them identifying Minato. And given the fact that it's been almost 200 years since Minato's death in 2010, the ideal that whether or not Minato was 'recently' dead or that S.E.E.S. 'roller coaster to the future' sent them at their known prime in this time, so for now, their can be a layer of secrecy for S.E.E.S. to keep as a protective barrier for the time being.

Honestly, it's be an awkward situation if these people learned that Minato was somehow resurrected from the dead – an act that even with the insanity of the Dark Hour made little logical sense in the valedictorian's mind and bordered on the realm of witchcraft (if there was such a thing) – so Junpei's act of casualness served as the perfect cover up at this point.

But who knows how long the charade will last?

* * *

><p>Maverick Hunter Base; South Transport Bay<p>

* * *

><p>It was Flame Stag's turn to oversee the nightly activities at the Hunter Base. Certainly things were quiet around Abel City since all Reploids have finally been freed from the fear of the Maverick Virus – and all subsequent variations - , and being able to reconcile with the humans was a good feeling for the deer-based reploid, but part of him missed having a thrill in his life. Things have been a bit boring lately, he admitted, but that weird Mechaniloid glitch and those letters were a slight change of pace.<p>

Not only that, but something happened to the group that accompanied X to the Moonlight Bridge that got the Lifesavers baffled. Stag _never_ heard of an anomaly that those guys can't fix.

It actually intrigued Stag, and as Boomer Kuwanger knew, not much caught the mammaloid's interest that easily. Maybe they'd see for themselves after the shift ended.

Stag's audio receiver's perked as he saw the small carrier that Red Alert used to travel to the beach fly back in, slowly descending on the platform. Jogging to the hatch, Stag saluted Red upon his visage being visible, who saluted back.

Stag then noticed Junpei supporting Minato, which caught his attention. '_Humans…? Wait, are these humans the ones from the news…? Wait a minute, they're…!_'

Flame Stag eyed Minato with a certain intensity that confirmed his sudden thought. His profile matched the file Alia and co. displayed to the Hunter's conference last morning.

'_It… just what the hell is going on…?_' He then looked at Yukari, who was worried about Minato, judging by her expression.

"E-excuse me…", Stag blurted out, catching the strawberry blonde's attention.

"Yes…?" "Is you friend alright?" "Oh, he's just tired. No need to worry."

"Oh… that's great to hear, Ms. Takeba.", he said before realizing that he just said her name without realizing she never introduced herself.

"How the hell did you-!", she gaped before Crowrang put an arm in front of the girl dressed in pink and brown.

"Perhaps… we should have explained further. Come on. We'll take you to see the higher-up and we'll explain everything."

"Just what exactly is going on?", asked Ken.

"Well, to summarize, your profiles were attached to a letter sent to our headquarters the same timeframe a trio of units called Mechaniloids went berserk, mentioning your names."

"Okay…? And _I'm_ the Frankenstein's monster.", Junpei quipped, earning an elbow to the gut by Yukari.

"It's no joke, bro.", came Axl. " We got all the evidence you'd ever ask for to explain everything." Then expression changed a little bit. "Well, maybe not _everything_…"

"Okay…?", Akihiko trailed. "Anything we should be bracing for."

"Reploids. Reploids everywhere.", quipped Junpei again, stretching his arm in the same fashion as a certain _Toy Story_ internet meme, placing his other arm on Yukari's shoulder. _'DAMN, I'm on a roll today!_"

Yukari shot him a death glare whilst Mitsuru sighed. The animalistic Reploids of Red Alert, Flame Stag, and Red merely blinked.

"Hey, what's all the ruckus, guys?", came a voice.

Turning around, the group saw X and Zero walking towards them, the former smiling and the latter with his trademark flat face.

Both came to the realization that S.E.E.S was standing along with Axl's group. "Hey X.", whispered Zero. "I think those are-" "Yes, I know. I'll handle this."

X stepped forward. "I bet you guys are confused as to what's going on. Believe me, we're in the same boat. Name's X by the way.", he smiled, extending his hand.

"Zero.", came the blonde.

"We know.", came Mitsuru, the elegant scarlet-haired girl replied. "We overheard your compatriot's discussion on the ride here. I'm Mitsuru Kirijo; it's a pleasure."

'_Kirijo?_' thought Zero. '_Like that Kurobane and Shikikata Kirijo from earlier…?_' Zero did recall Sting Chameleon mentioning the latter's name after that awkward visit. _'Could this girl be their ancestor…?_'

"Akihiko Sanada. Likewise." "Yukari Takeba. And this idiot is Junpei Iori."

"H-hey! I can introduce myself, y'know!" "…Why do I have trouble believing that?" "What the hell?"

"…F-uuka Yamagishi… It's nice to meet you." "Ken Amada; It's nice to meet you."

"-Bark bark-!" "He says 'My name is Koromaru.' And I am Aegis. It's an honor."

X blinked at Aegis. He didn't know what to be more impressed with; her understanding Koro-chan's speech, or the fact that Aegis herself was an android.

And I take it that he's Minato Arisato?", asked Zero, popinting to the sleeping, schlepped blunette on Junpei's shoulder.

"Okay, seriously. How do you know our names so well. Fist the deer dude says Yuka-tan's name, then tall, red and blonde says Minato's name. Can someone _please_ fill us in here? I feel like were being interrogated by some government agency in an action flick here!", whined Junpei.

Akihiko sported a surprised, yet agreeing look. Truth be told, the silver-haired boxer thought the exact same thing. Well, maybe not the action movie part…

"Well, the Maverick Hunters _are_ a government-run organization…", trailed Axl. X and Zero sighed at Axl's blunt comment. Kids….

"Perhaps we should cut to the chase. Follow us to the Command Center; we'll explain everything. Oh, what about Minato over there…?", X questioned.

"Have the Lifesavers check him out. I know they don't excel in human physiology, but it's 1 in the morning; better to work with what we have that fussing in the middle of the night, don't you think?", asked Zero.

"Where's their residential area?", asked Mitsuru.

"Follow me. The rest of you can follow X and Zero.", invited Flame Stag, craning his neck to led Junpei, and the subsequent Yukari who joined them, worried about the blunette.

But something else troubled her… Playing the details Axl and his group informed him about the previous day, followed by some of the Maverick Hunter's bizarre metamorphoses. But what really struck the queen bee of Gekkoukan High was that not only did these events occur relatively close to one another, but that part that 'when it struck midnight, the next second the metamorphoses occurred in tandem to all machines – including Reploids having powered on, as if there was a grand blackout. Yukari gulped.

'_If my hunch is correct… This was most likely planned. Maybe not what happened to those Reploids at midnight, but the other parts fit perfectly. But how **did** the Dark Hour return…? And what does it spell for the future ahead…?'_

Yukari tried to not let the worrying affect her too much, but there was that inkling of worry about in her thoughts…

* * *

><p>"Che! This is <em>so<em> fucking boring!", came a young pompous male voice, the only visible details being a head of spiky red and yellow hair over his right cheek that sported an upside-down crucifix-shaped scar jutting south from his eye as his neck was arched back. Clearly has was bored of something.

"Snooping around, spying on the enemy, doing the James Bond routine… if I wanted to do that, I'd be playing a first-person shooter, not this shit!", he chided, running a hand through his hair.

"Patience is a virtue.", came a calm male voice. The view of the person was a long-sleeved arm holding an elegant-looking black sword – including the blade – with artistic designs etched throughout the whole of the weapon. He also seemed to be wearing a blue trench coat without a shirt underneath (exposing a medium build) and a thick white sash slanting from his left shoulder to his right hip, whist a leather belt was securely fastened from the opposite side over the sash. "It'd be foolhardy to collect the fruits of labor before they fully ripen; it'd taste terrible.", the voice's owner said almost passively, as if being smart with the first person.

"Che.", the scarred male let loose. "Still, there's logic in that I suppose…"

Standing firm away from the wall he was leaning on, the first figure stood erect, stretching his arms over his shoulders, sporting a silly look.

Observing closely, the figure had a wild head of spiky scarlet hair jutting wildly with a thin and wide strip of yellow hair drew on the edge of his forehead's hairline, dropping two bangs – one vertically down to the right of his right eye and one diagonally over his left eye, with bits of yellow hair draping over his right side slanting left. He wore an elegant white coat with erected coattails and sky blue rim accents, with the rims in swirls at breast level. Accompanying it was a pair of white pants, with a midsize, elegant claymore resting diagonally on his waist in a way that the handle was slanted over his right buttock, indicating he was right handed; the pant legs' cuffs were the same shade of sky blue.

The full splendor of his face revealed blood-red eyes in a lazed expression, with his scar looking like one straight line down his right eye vertically with a perpendicular line intersecting the scar under the eye across his nose. His light skin suggested he never experienced blemishes a day in his life. There was a black-ink 'IV' tattoo under his left eye.

Overall he looked like a battle-scarred pretty boy.

On the other hand, the other figure, who was taller, had messy brown hair with many curly split ends draping over his left eye and even paler skin, wore no shirt under his blue overcoat, wearing the sash and belt from earlier (the end of the sash looped around a waist belt and draped over his left leg), wore two leg belts around his right thigh, long blue jeans, and grey armbands at upper-arm level with two erect tassels on both of them. His visible right eye was a menacing, emotionless-looking yellow. His sword's blade had a slight hook to it, with chains extending from the back of the hilt and connecting to the butt of the handle in a triangular fashion. He sighed.

"It's better to know what one is up against before an assault on the enemy. 'Haste makes waste' as IV.", said the brunette.

"I _know_ what a preemptive strike _is_, Will.", came the red-and-yellow haired male, apparently named after a Roman numeral, arms behind his head, annoyed. "I just think a strike like this deserves some… _finesse_."

"Finesse? You? Please.", mocked the brunette, Will.

"Well, then, let's see who's way works better, shall we?", IV said with a toothy grin.

Suddenly they could hear some footsteps. Both of them peered to see two generic-looking green-armored Reploid troops and a grayish-black panther Reploid with a white stomach and an orange scarf with two photon pistols strapped to his waist and a long black tail.

The panther's ears perked. "Shh. You two hear something…?"

"Do you, Shade Panther, sir?", came one of the guards.

Shade Panther's red eyes swished side to side before motioning the other two to follow him. Slowly they crept towards where IV and Will hid.

IV smirked. "Speak of the devil. Keh heh heh…" Will sighed.

As soon as they reached the alley corner and pressed against the wall and peeked around, only to find nothing of interest.

Shade Panther cocked a brow. "What the-"

Before the three could register what happened, Shape Panther and the two guards's eyes shrunk, fluids dripping from their mouths.

They realized too late that they were simultaneously stabbed in the stomach by swords of light. They then fell unconscious as the swords vanished. IV was behind them at the time dangling his fingers dramatically with a gleeful, sadistic smirk.

"Look ma; no hands~!"

Will sighed, pinching his nose. "IV, for God's sake, be serious here. Congratulations, you just made 3 Hunters go offline – three Hunters we could have squeezed the info we needed out of that we needed, and you just threw that idea out the window."

IV's grin distorted slightly. "Are you _sure_? Last I checked, you have the Magician Arcana's gift. Surely, getting info out of a corpse is no problem for ya, right 'Grimoire-kun?'"

Will's face darkened. "Mind probing is different with dead bodies, you idiot. But yes; even though these Reploids are not dead, it's actually better that way. It's annoyingly long to 'download' information from an offline brain. It's like downloading mass data off an outdated computer in a shitty network. And _that_ takes more than twice as long as a live person."

"Che. Letting Reploids live… what a pain in the ass.", chided IV. He then grinned maniacally. "But… sometimes you gotta dance with the Devil to get out of Hell."

He looked up at the landscape of the MHHQ, grinning darkly.

"So… looks like our boss was right on the money all along. Minato Arisato… your ass is ours."

IV let out a dark chuckle as Will knelt down, the camera view showing Will right hand reaching towards Shade Panther's forehead consuming the screen.

* * *

><p>"This is incredible!", gawked one Dr. Doppler. The elderly Reploid was inducted into the Maverick Hunter's science department some time ago, and held lodging in the base, so his presence performing neurological scans of Minato's body made sense.<p>

Accompanying him were 2 Lifesavers and Izzy Glow, the firefly Reploid also gawking at the screen displaying Minato's vital signs and neurological levels.

According to the screen, although the blunette's body experienced exhaustion to the point of coma-like sleep, his neurological activity was extremely high-functioning and in-tune to his environment. His levels suggested he withheld the functionality of a supercomputer!

Well, for Yukari and Junpei – who stood on the other side of a windowed wall observing Minato's checkup – it was no surprise after the whole Tartarus fiasco and the battles against the Shadows, Strega and Nyx, plus being the Wild Card imbued with over 100 Personas and control of various Arcana, along with all the magical powers they provided, it was no real surprise to them.

However, Yukari and Junpei exchanged worried glances. It was obvious that Abel City experienced the Dark Hour for the first time, hence what happened with the blackouts and strange transformations. Question is… how would S.E.E.S. explain the truth that had been so carefully guarded for over 200 years…?

I bet this would be a trial for even Mitsuru, of which the heiress to the famous Kirijo clan excelled in activities related to speech, debate and student government. And if Mitsuru couldn't bridge the gap, then this relationship would _pretty_ awkward.

"Should _we_ tell them…?", asked Junpei. "Y'know… 'bout Persona?"

Yukari arched her brows. "I'm not sure, Junpei. I think we should consult with the others first. I think not thinking ahead will do more bad than good."

Yeah, well, you may wanna look carefully, Yuka-tan, cuz there are robot dudes trying to see how Minato ticks while supposedly giving him a checkup! Don't you think it's a bit excessive?"

"Well, Minato _did_ 'come back', so making sure Minato's health isn't in danger may be a blessing in disguise. Think about it; we can mask Minato's 'resurrection' this way until we come up with a battle plan to sort things out. Things seem very chaotic here so the last thing we all need is another scare. Or am I over-thinking this?", huffed the strawberry-blonde archer.

The class clown shook his head. "No, that actually makes sense. But that only makes whole thing suspicious. See how captivated those dudes are with Minato's brain data?", he said jerking a thumb. "They strike me as dude impressed by the out of the ordinary. Namely, how Minato's 'functionality' as they put it is that of a smart computer. They know something's up; it's only a matter of time before the questions start flying like popcorn kernels."

Yukari looked again at Izzy Glow, of which the firefly Reploid was hastily typing away at the terminal displaying Minato's vitals whilst the blunette slept peacefully, shirtless (revealing a slight build) and with electroneurodiagnostic pads on several parts of his body distributing vitals info wirelessly to the computers, such as heart rate and carotid and kidney function/blood flow.

All functions were, thankfully, stable, much to his friends' relief.

"I still can't get over this boy's brain activity.", said Izzy. "It's like he's got multiple brains in his head. His brain cell count and neurological complex suggest supergenius ability and activity rivals that of an electronic brain! This boy's a superhuman!"

"Interesting.", replied Doppler. "I best forward these results to Gate, Dr. Cain and to Signas; they would be most intrigued by this. Though something bugs me…"

"And that is, sir?", asked a Lifesaver.

"I get the feeling that there's more to this that we're seeing. And I also feel that the other children may have a similar brain pattern to young Mr. Arisato."

At this point, Yukari and Junpei exchanged panicked looks.

"What makes you say that?", asked the other Lifesaver.

"Think about it; that file the Kirijo Group gave to Signas that listed Minato's group's names? Along with those strange keywords? I think there's a connection."

"You think we should ask those two outside?", asked Izzy.

"It may be a good idea.", thought Doppler out loud, hand on his chin.

'_Shiiiiiiiiiit!_', thought Junpei.

* * *

><p>"Woooooooow~", Fuuka and Ken gasped as they witnessed many Reploids scurrying the halls along the way to the command center. There were several stares from the residents aimed at the humans, android and Shiba Inu pup (carried by Fuuka).<p>

"There's so many of these guys.", commented Akihiko. Mitsuru nodded as X and Zero walked in front of them, with Red Alert and Flame Stag behind them.

As the group arrived to their destination, the present members of S.E.E.S. were greeted by Alia, Layer and Pallette.

"Welcome to MHHQ, members of S.E.E.S. I apologize for the inconveniences you had to face in the last hour; we're not normally high-maintenance like this… Oh, I'm Alia, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"Layer." "Pallette~!"

"I'm Mitsuru. Mitsuru Kirijo." At this point the navigators' 'ears' perked.

"Akihiko Sanada. This is a pretty cool place, I gotta admit."

"Fuuka Yamagishi." "Ken Amada." "-bark bark-!"

"He said his name is Koromaru, and that it's a pleasure.", replied Aegis. "My name is Aegis. And likewise, it is a pleasure."

The three navigators inspected Aegis from head to toe, and were surprised as to how well built she was as an android from 200 years past. They were thinking whoever built her was truly ahead of their time, and was a genius at the very least.

"So, what's all the hubbub about us, anyway? Something about a… 'Mechaniloid' attack or something? And our files were involved or something?", asked Akihiko.

"You're well informed.", said Alia, a little surprised.

"That's my doing, Alia. Sorry.", said Axl, rubbing his nose sheepishly.

"No problem. Actually, it makes things a little easier. Actually there's been something I've been meaning to ask you since you're all hear and we ran a checkup on Minato."

"How is he?", asked Aegis, the anti-Shadow weapon asked worriedly.

"Oh, he's perfectly fine.", came Pallette. "But see, here's the thing. The docs noticed that Minato exhibited powerful brainwaves surpassing the neurological ability of a normal human. In fact, it was like he possessed multiple brains!"

"!", expressed Mitsuru slightly, gazing lightly at Akihiko, who returned the glance.

"And to add to this statement, there were similar activity in all of you, including young Koromaru and Ms. Aegis. I personally have never seen anything like it.", commented Layer, a hint of bewilderment in her voice.

"…", blinked Ken.

"And there was something interesting that came up in the files, but not even out best researchers could figure it out."

"Figure… what out…?", asked Splash Warfly. Flame Hyenard cocked his head.

"I'll be blunt here: Can you tell us what 'Persona' is?", asked Alia.

"!", expressed the group of S.E.E.S. – even Kormaru – who clearly did not predict _this_ being brought up so soon. Having just arrived to this time and not being able to consul with Minato and the others, or especially Igor and Elizabeth, it was simply going to a head way too fast.

"…Well…", Mitsuru began, earning many heads turning to the redheaded swordswoman. "Some things are better left unsaid, but… I didn't think that you were able to come across that word so soon…"

This got X and Zero to exchange worried looks. "Is… there something you're not telling us?", asked X.

"Well…", trailed Ken.

Suddenly, the intercom system unleashed gurgled static. And then a cocky voice could be heard.

"_Attention, all BITCHES! This is your captain, IV, speaking on behalf of Ur-Fuked Airlines._' IV cackled. '_In case you can't tell, this is a hostile takeover, folks! We're here for Minato Arisato, so I'll be frank here: if he ain't outside the entrance to the Maverick Hunter's HQ main building in 10 minutes, some serious shit is gonna go down! Bombs, berserk Mechaniloids, blackouts, flash fires… that ain't got __**shit**__ on the hell about to be unleashed if you don't haul ass and make with the kid before you piss me off! Oh, and to make sure I'm not joking, feel free to check the security footage at sector 4 of the premises; I'll think you'll see we mean business._'

Immediately a navigator put the feed on the main screen, and the entire room's occupants looked in horror to see Shade Panther and the two Reploids with him pinned to the concrete wall with stakes of some kid pinned in their hands and feet, positioned akin to crucifixion. The gashes in their chests oozed fluids.

"How… terrible…!", Fuuka gasped. "Who's the monster who did this…?", gawked Stonekong, aghast at the horror.

"_Clock's tickin', folks._", came IV's voice, causing the camera to affix to the source, catching IV's image.

This shocked the Hunters in the room due to the fact that the terrorist-in-question was a human.

"_Hm? Why, hello there~_", came the dual-colored male with the large scar sadistically before a swift motion revealed him slicing the camera in half with the broadsword on his waist fast enough for the camera to register the action before its demise.

Signas then came bursting out of the room, roaring "All Hunter personnel, prepare for emergency measures! The terrorists may be confirmed as human, but they have declared battle on our soil! Prepare to apprehend the perpetrators; do NOT engage in fatal combat – that's an order!"

"SIR, YES SIR!", came the generic Hunters, rushing to the scene where IV was.

Suddenly, Dr. Doppler, Izzy Glow, Junpei and Yukari burst into the room, catching everyone by surprise.

"S-Signas! X! Zero!", cried Doppler.

"Senpai!", cried Yukari, with Junpei holding his cap in place while running.

"What is it…?", asked Alia.

"It's Minato! He's-", cried Yukari.

"WHAT? What happened to him?", asked Mitsuru.

"N-no! It's not that!", panicked Izzy. "There's nothing wrong with him _physically_ or anything like that, but-"

"But _what_, man? Out with it!", Akihiko yelled.

"He pulled a Houdini without anyone knowing he left the med room! We can't find him anywhere!", cried Junpei, panting out of breath.

"!", came the surrounding group.

"Aw, shit!", cursed Red, Axl and Flame Stag.

"-gasp- The front entrance!", cried Gungaroo. Hyenard and Warfly gawked, whist Crowrand paled slightly. The present S.E.E.S. members followed suit.

"Oh dear…", whimpered Tornado Tonion, while Snipe Anteator gulped.

"Oh no…", whispered Mitsuru.

On the main screen… was Minato squaring off against IV and Will!

"So, you decided to just show up on your own that quickly. Damn, you're good, kid.", commented IV. "I gotta hand to ya; I didn't expect to you to sneak you to sneak by all those damn Reploids so easily; and believe me, I don't praise often."

"Skip the pleasenteries.", Minato replied dryly. "I know why you're here. You may have my friends and the Hunters in the dark, but you can't fool me."

Will's visible eye widened slightly.

IV paused for a moment before chiding slightly. "Well, _damn_. Judging by your expression you know your shit; that just killed my buzz."

Cracking his neck, he let loose a small sigh of relief, strangely. "Still, that saves a boring and long-ass speech, so no harm done, I suppose…"

"You want the method to reach Nyx's seal; it's pretty obvious from the moment you said you wanted _me_. You revealed your hand quite early.", commented the blunette leader of S.E.E.S. He then smirked uncharacteristically a bit. "Your poker face sucks."

"Funny; my boss said that exact same thing to Mega Man X in person. Y'know, when those five received an early 'birthday present'?", grinned IV.

"So _you_ brought back the Dark Hour.", came Minato darkly. HE then whipped out his Evoker and pointed it to his right temple.

* * *

><p>"Wh-what the fuck?", gawked Flame Stag and Izzy Glow. "Has that boy gone mad?", cried Doppler, while Signas paled.<p>

X and Zero began to sweat before Axl commented "Hey, it's that weird gun! The one that doesn't load bullets!"

"Wha?", Pallette gawked. "It doesn't fire bullets?"

Mitsuru bit her lip. Akihiko's eyes squinted. "He doesn't think he can…"

"It's Minato we're talking about dude. If anyone can summon their Persona at any time, it's him.", said Junpei, before realizing he revealed his knowledge of the

'P-word'.

"Stupei, you _idiot_!", barked Yukari, slugging him.

"Okay, enough nonsense. What's a Persona? And make it quick.", said Zero, getting annoyed.

"…I think you might want to see it first hand.", said Ken as everyone heard a clicking noise from Minato's Evoker.

"Five seconds.", came Minato. "…_Huh?_", gawked IV. "…?", came Will.

"Five seconds for you to hightail it out of here before you go home to your 'boss' in body bags; I am _not_ in the mood for this 'Capture Nyx' shit."

IV smirked deviously before reaching into his right coat pocket. "Oh _really_? QWell, newsflash, sucker.", he said before whipping out an Evoker of his own and pointing it at his own right temple.

"You're not the only ones with this fancy toy!"

"!", was Minato's expression.

Inside the base, S.E.E.S. merely gawked in shock.

"Seems to me we're just trading fighting words.", quipped IV. "Looks like we got ourselves a duel here, ah?"

"IV! Don't you _dare-_", barked Will.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, WILL! I got this brat.", IV grinned as he cocked the safety.

"Big mistake.", Minato. He reading the Evoker as both male's pupils shrunk.

"Orpheus!"

"Tyr!"

The sound of shattered glass and rising blue flame-like lights filled the open air.

* * *

><p>Well, damn! A full 19 pages! Sorry for the long time interval to update; a LOT of shit was going on, of which I'd rather NOT explain.<p>

Anyway, I'm back, and want to try to take less time to update.

Till then, Read, Review, and have a nice day.


	4. MARCH OF MAN'S'LAUGHTER'

NEW CHAPTER! WOO!

* * *

><p>'<em>Man marks the earth with ruin, but his control stops at the shore<em>'. – 'The Deep, Blue Sea' by Lord Byron

"Five seconds.", came Minato. "…_Huh?_", gawked IV. "…?", came Will.

"Five seconds for you to hightail it out of here before you go home to your 'boss' in body bags; I am _not_ in the mood for this 'Capture Nyx' shit."

IV smirked deviously before reaching into his right coat pocket. "Oh _really_? Well, newsflash, sucker.", he said before whipping out an Evoker of his own and pointing it at his own right temple.

"You're not the only ones with this fancy toy!"

"!", was Minato's expression.

Inside the base, S.E.E.S. merely gawked in shock.

"Seems to me we're just trading fighting words.", quipped IV. "Looks like we got ourselves a duel here, ah?"

"IV! Don't you _dare-_", barked Will.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, WILL! I got this brat.", IV grinned as he cocked the safety.

"Big mistake.", Minato. He reading the Evoker as both male's pupils shrunk.

"Orpheus!"

"Tyr!"

The sound of shattered glass and rising blue flame-like lights filled the open air.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: MARCH OF MAN'S-'LAUGHTER'<p>

* * *

><p>The front entrance to the Maverick Hunters erupted in a lake of ghostly blue flames. On Minato's side erupted a creature – a mechanical doll-like, turquoise-bodied marionette with speakers in its stomach cavity, with an oversized harp on its back. Secured around its pitch-black headface and white hair styled after its master (its right eyes was covered) were a pair of oversized headphones and a long red scarf wrapped securely around its neck.

On IV's side – the bicolored-haired teen in the white and blue outfit grinning maniacally – stood his Persona, aptly named Tyr; named after the Nordic god of war, who quelled Fenrir's rage by feeding his right arm to the wolf.

His appearance was that of a young man with neck-length magenta hair hooked at the ends wearing a crown shaped like a curved slab erecting about a foot long. He wore two azure capes – one secured over the right side of his body by a long cloth and bejeweled epaulette wrapped around his waist diagonally, and a second one secured over his left shoulder, down his back and tied to his left leg. He wore a tattered white shirt exposing his breast area and baggy beige pants. Finally, the blue-eyed warrior held an elegant bastard sword in his left hand.

At this moment, IV's grin stretched devilishly. "Attack! Slaughter him like a dog!", he commanded the warrior coated in the blue flames that came with his arrival, the warrior charged with his sword extended.

"Not likely.", said Minato calmly, and he swung out his left arm, signaling Orpheus to release sound vibrations from the boom box in its stomach. The waves formed merciless pulsations of waves that knocked Tyr back on its rear, causing IV to wince from the feedback.

After all, the connection between a Persona and its master is both its bond of strength and its source of weakness.

Regaining composure, the dual-haired male in the extravagant coat sneered. "Well, well. Nice approach. But just so you know…"

The next instant, Minato registered a shadow looming over him. Turning around slowly, clockwise, he swiftly spun once and dove out of the way of IV descending upon the spot where he stood, brandished claymore having dug into the earth lightly.

"A fight between Persona-users are not solely between our inner Shadows doing the dirty work!"

Minato eyed a long steel pipe laying by his foot as he listened to the scarred male's rant. Kicking down with one foot on the edge of the pipe - the pipe spinning rapidly as it went airborne- and gracefully grabbed it in one hand in a swift motion, holding it in a kendo grip. "Thanks for the lesson. Not that I needed it."

IV sneered again. "You sassy bitch, you. Let's see how long you can keep those shrewd lips of yours flapping, shall we?", he jested as he charged headfirst at the blunette, claymore in tow.

Just as he reached the outskirts of his claymore's attack length, a pair of buster shots struck the ground at IV's feet, halting his path.

Both males turned to see several generic Hunter foot soldiers, clad in turquoise; a small unit spearheaded by none other than Chill Penguin.

"Surrender at once! W will not go easy on you just because you're human. This is your only warning!", commanded one of the Reploids.

IV merely looked stunned for a moment, but his mouth slowly crept into a wide, devilish grin, thin as a line.

"Y'know something? I would actually find you threatening if you guys were actually… *snicker* well, threatening. But sadly for you I don't. You wanna know why?", IV said with malice in his voice.

"-Squawk- To hell with your reasoning! Men, close in!", Chill Penguin signaled.

* * *

><p>As the soldiers moved in, back in the command center, Junpei noticed something strange on the monitor. He noticed that the second guy with brown hair and the blue overcoat was missing. Then it hit him.<p>

"Tell them to get out of there!", he yelled at Alia. She blinked. "E-excuse me…?"

"This is no time for games! Those guys are in serious danger! Get them out NOW!"

"What do you mean?", asked X, concerned. Zero was also showing signs of intrigue at this.

"What's wrong, Iori?", aksed Mitsuru. "Don't you notice that other dude went missing? Where is he?", Junpei asked exasperatedly.

"Now that you mention it…", trailed Fuuka, instantly clamping her hands together as the room glowed from the blue flame-like light surrounding her, a tall woman in a white mask with straw-like hair in a flowing red gown, arm gloves and a crystal ball with intricate patterns incasing Fuuka like a pregnant woman carrying a child appeared, sprouting peacock feathers from its back.

Every Reploid in the room was in total awe as Fuuka successfully summoned Juno, her Persona under the HIGH PRIESTESS Arcana.

"Holy-!", gawked Red and Axl. Gungaroo blushed from its beauty. 'Pretty…' Alia, Palette and Layer shown a cross of shock and awe from the display, while X, Zero, the remainder of Red Alert, Flame Stag, and the navigators just stood there with stupefied expressions. Dr. Doppler and Izzy Glow marveled at Juno's summoning like it was the discovery of the century, as put broadly how a scientist may, in fact, marvel.

"So… _this_ is a Persona…?", whispered Doppler, clearly at a loss for words seeing something so marvelous up close.

"Y-Yamagishi! How on earth did you-?", began Mitsuru before Akihiko placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Think about it. If _Minato_ can summon his Persona outside the Dark Hour, then surely the same can apply to us, right…?", said the boxing champ.

"-gasp-!", came Fuuka. "Junpei was right! Look out!", Fuuka cried the last part at the open channel microphone that was connected to Chill Penguin's group at the front gates.

* * *

><p>"Huh? Who was that?", asked one of the Reploid foot soldiers as he stopped his advance. The next moment a swift trail of black swished by said soldier, and his body was horizontally sliced into his head, torso and legs – the head and legs flung to the left, and his torso cast off to the right with a clod. The next moment Chill Penguin registered was a horrific moment – in a single flash his 10 or so foot soldiers – all standing in different positions at different distances (meaning that they were not in a straight line) were cleaved into various chunks, blank looks on their faces; they didn't even register the moment of their demise.<p>

The petite bird Reploid watched as Will, IV's colleague, drop into a one-knee crouch position, his strange black sword in his right hand, the blade resting on his left upper arm. As he twisted his neck, there was a sadistically dead look in visible right eye.

Chill felt like he was starting a staring contest with the Grim Reaper himself. Minato himself was mortified by the display, sporting a shocked expression one would expect the silent Wild Card to make; a trickle of sweat danced on his cheek.

"'You confidence borders on the brink of arrogance. And arrogance leads to failure'. _That_ was what you were going to say, wasn't it, IV?", said Will, running his fingertips through his hair fringing over his left ear.

IV sighed and shrugged, sporting a smug grin. "Got it in one." He then used the broadsword in his right hand and threw the handle into his left, swinging counterclockwise at the charging Minato, who easily blocked the incoming blade with the pipe, albeit that it bent to a near-right angle, thus being of no use as a straight weapon. Instead, he threw the pipe like a Frisbee at IV's face and barrel rolled to the side to ready his Evoker, signaling his conveyance of another command for Orpheus.

Easily craning his neck to dodge the brunt of the object, he paid no mind to the cut on his left cheek, his tongue sampling the trickle of blood seeping from the scratch intently.

"You know what makes blood taste simply _divine_?", he asked venomously.

The next moment, IV vanished, appearing before Minato, knee on the ground as he shoved the edge of his broadsword into the bluenette's stomach, robbing the Fool of his breath. Following this, IV slid the sword's blunt edge across and away from him and into Minato, effectively swatting him like a fly.

Minato stumbled to keep his footing, but landed on his bum. Attempting to stand again, he looked up to see IV in front of him, broadsword raised high and reared for the killing blow. IV's sneer was diabolic.

"It's a dash of _fear_!"

Just as the blade was swung down, the moment before the blade's edge reached the 12-inch zone from Minato's face, a blast of ice zoomed by and collided with the center of the sword, freezing over. As IV stopped the blade mid-swing, the blade snapped in half about halfway down the blade's length, the blade flying clumsily over Minato's head and plopped on the ground with a large 'THUD', and shattered into several pieces from the extreme temperature.

IV looked dully at Chill Penguin, a dark, annoyed "_HUH?_", escaping his mouth, eyes narrowed. It was obvious that Chill Penguin was in for it now. "The _fuck_ is this shit?", growled IV.

IV lazily looked at the small Reploid, whose fists quaked with rage. "You attacked my men and slaughtered them without a second thought, you monster. I hope you're ready for the consequences!"

"You aren't _honestly_ serious when you said that, are you?", jabbed IV, clearly get closer to a state of anger. A vein appeared on his forehead.

"For years…!", IV yelled as he kicked Minato harshly aside. "For years I had lived with the hatred towards the horrors your kind committed administered to the human race! Death, despair, bloodshed, fear, hatred… _all because of Reploids_!", he roared at the top of his lungs, taking aback Chill Penguin, Minato and most importantly, his comrade Will.

"I lost my home to a Maverick who – _get this_ – betrayed your precious Hunters to enact on jealousy and a selfish desire to fight one insignificant sack of scum!"

'_Wait a minute…_' X pondered before coming to a horrific realization. "…Oh no… is he referring to…?"

"What are you talking abou-…", Zero trailed before coming to the same conclusion. A panicked expression on his face, he darted left and right, shouting "Where's Magma Dragoon?"

It was then, the navigators in the room, Flame Stag, Izzy Glow, Doppler, the Red Alert squad, Axl, Alia, Layer and Palette became very, _very_ shaken. It appeared to Mitsuru that this 'Magma Dragoon' and IV's speech held a very dark connection.

"Is that guy… really a…?", muttered Snipe Anteator, clearly shaken about something.

"But… even for a _Reploid_ that would be impossible…", gawked Splash Warfly.

"Is this guy… -gulp-… a _demon_?", whimpered Vanishing Gungaroo.

"A demon…?", Ken asked aloud. "What do you mean? What's going on?", inquired Akihiko with a sense of urgency; perhaps even a dash of fear of the unknown.

Everyone in the room was silent, unnerved expressions on every Reploid in the room.

At this point, the doors connecting the command center to the eastern wing of the Hunter base opened.

It was Dr. Cain and Magma Dragoon, both sporting shocked looks at seeing IV on the monitor.

"I… don't believe my eyes... he's a…!", croaked Cain. His already weakened-from-age knees wobbled from some heir-apparent stress, causing Dragoon to hoist the doctor into his forearms like a seat as he knelt to one knee.

"T-thank you Dragoon.", Cain thanked, but with some sorrow.

"I didn't think one could exist…", gawked Dragoon, clearly shaken.

"Can someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?", asked Yukari.

"…It was… some time ago…", whispered Cain. "During the war with the Repliforce's staged coup d' etat. Dragoon was the catalyst of the war by being coerced – bartered, even – into destroying a space colony in order to send the Hunters and Repliforce into a frenzy. It was called-"

-_The Sky Lagoon!-_ bellowed IV's voice electronically through Chill Penuin's comm-link. –_My home was destroyed by your insignificant war with the Repliforce! I lost __**everything**__! My home, my family, my friends… I am the only survivor of that day from Hell!_-

That was the final confirming nail in the coffin. All Reploids in the room and Cain were shocked; this psychopathic young man was a survivor of the devastating Sky Lagoon space colony crash.

"Someone was able to survive the crash from space…?", gawked Flame Stag.

No one could fathom how space colony had been destroyed and how _anyone_ could have survived; sheer dumb luck was out of the question. So how did he…

"That is why… we, the ones who survived the wars, who hatred flows harsher than the River Styx, will see to it our vengeance is achieved."

Finally, he turned to Minato. "And a certain someone here has the means to do it. We _knew_ you'd come… Minato Arisato; Death's vessel."

Minato glared. "That was long ago. Death no longer has a place on this world."

IV gave a sly, cocky look. "Don't give me that crap. Nyx, Pharos, the immortal curse of human aging… come now, stop with the stupid shit, will ya?"

He then grabbed Minato by the throat just as the blunette shot up. "-gack-!"

IV's face twisted into one of disgust. "Keeping the goodies all to yourself… you're pretty selfish."

Minato choked out "Have you looked in a mirror? Trying to slaughter a race of sentient beings sounds pretty selfish to me…!"

"Being _coy_, huh? I'll fix _that_!", IV shouted as he thrashed Minato into a wall, smashing his spine into concrete.

"That's _it_!", Yukari yelled as she headed towards the door; Junpei grunting and following suit. "Where are you going! It's not safe!", cried Alia.

"You really think I'm just gonna let our friend get his ass handed to him? And think about it! Those dudes will slaughter you guys on sight!", countered Junpei.

"Be that as it may, you're unarmed! What can you-" Zero yelled before realizing that Mitsuru ran past him, a long pipe in hand, and zoomed out the door with graceful speed.

"Don't just stand there, Takeba, Iori! Let's move!"

"Where'd she get that…", Doppler trialed before realizing there were several pipes stacked neatly in the corner of the room; Mitsuru must've snuck over, grabbed one and then proceeded to running out the door.

"M-Mitsuru-senpai!", Ken yelled. "Dammit!", cursed Akihiko as he ran after the redheaded rich girl, tightening his gloves mid-run.

"S-somebody stop them!", cried Palette.

Flame Stag and Magma Dragoon, who had put Dr. Cain down seconds ago, instinctively ran after the teenagers. This was followed by Aegis, Ken and Koromaru, who lastly was followed by Fuuka, who bowed apologetically, stammering "W-we're sorry!" and chasing after them.

"Dammit!", cursed Zero as he, X and Axl follwed the 'bandwagon'.

Little did they know someone was watching this unfold. A midnight blue butterfly pressing against the window, its identity obscured by the pitch-black night and the madness of its festivities. Its wings flapped lightly and slowly took off, a gentle glowing trail of blue behind it…

"Who's the big boy _now_, **bitch**?", IV seethed. Minato struggled to remove IV's vice grip from his throat, but to no avail.

Chill Penguin attempted to ambush the dual-haired young man from behind, but was intercepted by Will, who swung his oversized black sword like a baseball bat, batting Penguin away with impressive force. There was a sizable dent in the stomach where Chill was impacted.

"I will be your opponent. That is, if you _think_ you can handle it.", Will said calmly, the hair bathing over the left side of his face shadowing over his pale beige flesh, his yellow eye of three distinct yellows – honey, gold and lemon – stared down at the bird like were they stood was like the heights of heaven and earth.

"You think I'm scared of two teenagers? I've been fighting _wars_, just so you know.", Chill said harshly.

"And I was a victim of said wars. But you don't hear me boasting it, now do you. Allow to ask you a civilized question, Reploid."

Chill Penguin's expression changed to a puzzled one.

"Tell me: 'What merit is there is war'? Is it glory? It is honor? Or is it the satisfaction of crushing enemy?"

The avian Reploid was taken aback by the question, just in time for a thrown pipeto whiz by him.

Will sighed, effortlessly grabbing the pipe mid-flight while quick and skillful finger movement, which twirled180 degrees and snapped with his pointer and middle fingers, finally followed by simply dropping the halves to the ground, cluttering.

"You're quite rude…", he said to the feminine figure in the shadows.

The figure turned out to be a certain archer, accompanied by her baseball cap-wearing companion.

"…Ms. Takeba, Mr. Iori. Haven't you ever learned it's impolite to throw things at someone's head…? You wouldn't want to get someone in the eye, would you?"

"Spare the crap and get your ass out of the way! We got no time for your games!", yelled Junpei, wielding a pipe like a two-handed sword – Junpei's weapon of choice.

"Sorry; no can do.", Will said nonchalantly. The next moment, he jumped towards Junpei, grabbed him by the face and threw him to the ground, his sword's tip held inches from Junpei's nose.

"But is it's an opponent you desire… _I'd be happy to oblige_.", he said coldly. Before he could swing down, a buster shot hit the blade's center of torque, effectively knocking the blade out of Will's hand, disarming him.

"Sorry, bub. There'll be no roughhousing on _my_ watch.", came Axl, the first to the scene, followed by everyone else who trailed Yukari and Junpei.

"At the cost of being arrogant… you may have me outnumbered, but I still have leverage over you all.", said Will, not losing his cool.

"Really? You an what army?", scorned Zero. Will grinned slightly. "Oh, just the one."

"Hm?", hummed Zero before instinctively dodged to the side as he sensed an entity diving from on high fist first at him; it missed Zero, but succeeded in ripping a Hunter soldier's head clean off at the neck, the head smashing into the right side of the soldier's face next to him with supreme force, ripping its head off his neck like a piece of paper torn in two.

The figure, who was overshadowed by Flame Stag lurching over it, failed to block an axel kick aimed under his chin, whipping him aside and felling him like a fallen tree.

Standing up was a young figure with mid-length blonde hair juts atop his head with long sideburn 'tails' of hair, and a long silken ponytail, unbraided. The figure wore a rose-pink dress suit and matching pants with black loafers and a red neckbow with long ends, secured by a blue-gemmed brooch. The face and upper body revealed, the figure who dashed about like a bullet and destroyed 2 soldiers was in fact a young woman, possibly in her late teens, and had a relatively flat chest, which could mistake her appearance as an effeminate male with a pretty face. She was wearing strange, oversized brass knuckles with shielding atop the knuckles and sported silken white ribbons – one ribbon on either edge, for a total of four. Each of her assaulting moves were paired with a sharp gale of wind.

"You're late, Jaguar.", said Will, an amused grin. 'Jaguar' simply ran a hand through her silky hair. "Sorry, Will.", she said in a manner mixing masculine force with feminine finesse. "It was hard to find my way here in the black of night; you know I'm more of a day person."

She turned to the Hunters, of which Flame Stag stood back up and charged at Jaguar, who blocked his incoming punch with crossed arms, thus hitting her forearms. Jaguar used the instant to grab Stag by the fists, and with a display of amazing strength, threw the deer Reploid over her shoulder and darted towards the group, fists up.

Chill Penguin took this chance to aim a precise ice blast at IV's feet the moment his attention turned away from Minato to freeze IV's ankles and create a slippery path for Minato to be slid down on his back as Chill maintained their movement speed, just in time for them to be out of IV's attack range as he shattered the ice encasing his feet.

Akihiko stepped in front of the amalgamated individuals and threw a powerful right punch towards the blond girl in the pink dress suit, which was parried by Jaguar's right punch that met its adversary in a head-on collision.

Both fighters expressed a slight tinge of pain from the strike and immediately went to attack with their left fists, which also collided, forming an X-shape with all four fists.

In the boxing world, this was what could be called a 'Double Cross Counter'.

In the split second Akihiko was overtaken by surprise from her second succeeding strike meeting his head-on with no hesitation, Jaguar gave way in one of her legs and fell enough to remove her lock with Akihiko and spun on her feet, nimbly tripping the silver-haired boxer in a single, graceful movement. Ken instinctively at Jaguar with the pipe he held as if he possessed a bladed spear – his choice of weapon. There was little room for Jaguar to actually dodge the blow, given the little room the instant of attack, the positions were she, Ken and Akihiko were in his mid-fall, Akihiko knowing he could kick at Jaguar's skull if she tried to dodge at certain angles.

But that didn't mean it was her only option. No, sir.

Jaguar snaked her arm under the pipe Ken swung and hooked her hand about the tip, using the torque force to shatter the pipe in half and propelled the pipe half into Ken's cheek, lightly cutting it under his left eye.

After the pipe bounced of his flesh, Jaguar's hand clenched into a fist and collided it into Ken's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Since this was all before Akihiko finally hit solid ground, Jaguar kicked herself away from the immediate area, rolled a bit and recovered into a standing position, fists pumped.

"And this is me simply being a playful _kitten_.", Jaguar said coyly. "You better prepare yourself for when Jaguar Sakamoto _really_ goes for her prey!"

* * *

><p>"Jaguar… Sakamoto…", whispered Alia. "Where have I… -gasp- It couldn't be!", she exclaimed as she typed frivolously on her keyboard, searching for that name. There was 1 result. Alia's eyes shrunk.<p>

"The heiress to the Wildcat Finance fortune…! The one who mysteriously vanished when her family was slaughtered by Mavericks during the Repliforce war!"

"_What_?", gawked a voice. Turning around, Alia, Layer and Palette saw Skiver, Iris, and the 'affected' Armored Armadillo, Sting Chameleon, Slash Beast, Storm Eagle and Blizzard Wolfang.

"You can't be serious! I heard about that incident! The whole building was decimated by Mavericks in Ride Armors! There wasn't a single survivor!", gawked Skiver. Slash Beast nodded, having been on duty during that time, remembering hearing that report from Colonel himself.

"So we got two survivors of two incidents from the Maverick Wars, both with supernatural powers.", noted Storm Eagle, noting when IV summoned his Persona, Tyr. "I bet that third guy is the same case, too."

"There's probably a connection.", said Armored Armadillo. "We should move out, too."

"No.", said Doppler. "We know nothing of what this metamorphosis you all undertook has actually extended to; for all we know we could be putting you in mortal danger."

"I agree with Dr. Doppler.", said Dr. Cain. "We can't risk your well-being in a frenzied situation like this. Who knows what could occur!"

"Be that as it may…", said Wolfang. "Sitting on the sidelines does us no good. There has to be _something_ we can do!"

Dr. Cain and Dr. Doppler looked at each other and then placed a hand on their chins; they seemed to be in thought of something.

"Cain… are you thinking what I'm thinking…?" "That depends. You thinking about the energy readings those three and young Minato and his friends are exuding?"

"My thoughts exactly. There were similar readings coming from these five recently. There are all exhibiting high-functioning brain activity; their supernatural powers – 'Persona', as they call it – could be connected.", proposed Doppler.

"…", said Dr. Cain. Doppler noticed this.

"You know something, don't you?", asked Doppler. Cain sighed. "And here I was hoping it wouldn't come to this…"

"?" expressed everyone still in the room.

"I'll explain later. Right now, dealing with these intruders takes priority.", said Cain. '_assuming that we all survive this, God forbid the worst happening…_'

* * *

><p>"I've had enough of this bullshit! <em>Tyr!<em>", IV roared as he shot another round of the Evoker into his temple, summoning the one-armed, battle-scarred warrior phantasm.

"_Vorpal Dance!_", he practically screamed. "?", was Mitsuru's and Akihiko's response.

As the slashes of purple energy danced towards the group, the soldier's Buster fire failing to steer their course and the projectiles from by all the other Hunters proving useless, Minato's instinct kicked in. Standing up and shouting "TRUMPETER!", and firing his Evoker, a skeletal angel-like figure in white robes and Gothic crown slowly forged from the blue flames, blowing its trumpet at full blast.

As it did, the Vorpal Dance's 16 or so slices of violently turbulent energy was repelled as it impacted the barrier Trumpeter erected, returning the blasts to its sender – Tyr.

As Tyr suffered damage from its own attack, IV's body jolted sharply upwards, his muscles seemingly stiffened in pain and he neck and head jerked up as IV coughed a gob of blood, which splashed against his lower lip and chin, the rest bouncing outwards from his skin on collision, barely blotching the blue rim of his neck and the tucked-in cravat he wore.

He nearly doubled over before Jaguar was able to get to IV's frame in three short steps – that was, three steps covering about 8 yards; a tough feet – and knelt under IV, catching him with his right arm slung over Jaguar's shoulders.

"You alright, IV-_senpai_?", asked the blonde girl in the dress suit.

"Tch. Trumpeter, huh? Didn't see _that_ one coming, but…", he trailed before making a devious smirk. "Now the hunt gets just a _little_ more exicting…! Keheheheh… After all, prey that yields no tricks or surprises ain't worth the hunt, y'know?"

Suddenly IV's right eye winced, as if in pain, but also as if he anticipated trouble coming. "Jaguar, jump!"

Without being told twice, Jaguar jumped a rather impressive 6 and a half feet in the air, lags curled back with IV hanging off her like a slung bag. The impulsive order was rewarded with them missing an incoming blue energy blast from hitting them dead on. But if one paid closer attention, the speed of the shot was significantly slower than that of a standard blast, Buster shot or otherwise.

Zero and X recognized that attack anywhere; their suspicions were confirmed one everyone turned to see a certain draconic Reploid donned in red, one clawed foot forward in front of the other, his hands posed as if he shot a certain energy blast technique from a certain Street Fighter.

"That's far enough.", Dragoon growled, a hint of warning in his voice. "You're very lucky that even after all that you're doing – attacking comrades and innocents alike – that I don't get serious from the get-go. Besides… I think I hold slightly more value to _you_ than a human boy does… _IV_, if that IS your real name."

Landing and getting off Jaguar, IV froze in shock for a moment. It was also in the seceding moment that Will, who was still baring his blade to Junpei's neck in the ground, that he relinquished his hold on the S.E.E.S. Magician Arcana member, and ran full speed at Dragoon, baring his ebony-metal, enchanted-looking sword yelling "Don't, IV! It's not worth it! Do NOT forget your orders!"

That line caused two things to happen:

One, everyone in the area – especially Jaguar – were taken aback by Will's actions as he abandoned a perfectly crippling hostage situation against the Hunters and S.E.E.S for what seemed to be a desperation to stop something potentially catastrophic from happening; and judging by his original demeanor compared to his revealed side at this moment, it must have been something _truly_ frightening. Jaguar realized what Will meant soon after and attempted to restrain IV, not yet even touching him.

Two, IV's expression was still in shock, but as his body trembled and clasping his face with his left hand, his face distorted to one of excitement, rage, malice and bloodlust in shades of red and black so abysmal that Satan himself might grow envious.

"_You…__**YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!**_", IV roared with the ferocity of a lion pride. "So the demon decides to finally show his fucking face, huh? Planning to absolve yourself of your sins in a duel to the death? How _pious_ of you! _**SO MUCH IT MAKES ME SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!**_" as he charged forward at Dragoon – who was shocked by IV's display of enhanced speed, rivaling those like Overdrive Ostrich or Slash Beast in a short burst. The mere shockwave given off was powerful enough to knock the wind out of Jaguar as it bashed into her chest, knocking her on her bottom and toppling over.

"Will, stop him!", cried Jaguar.

Will had firmly placed himself in IV's path, taking on his tackle as IV's force of inertia clobbered into Will's self-barricade, mere feet from a stunned Magma Dragoon, Will pinning IV on the ground. Dragoon wondered after all said and done between learning that IV survived the Sky Lagoon crash how he would deal with his torrent of mixed feelings regarding the boy; as the possibly only survivor, could he just allow this boy – a victim of his Maverick status some time before – to be 'dealt with' (put loosely), despite this said boy out for Dragoon's blood?

"Get a fucking _hold_ of yourself, IV! You are become a threat to the mission and yourself! If our master finds out about this episode there's no telling what punishment you'll—"

"TO HELL WITH THAT! My family's murderer is right there and you _dare_ to stop me? How you sunk so low as to side with this _machine_?", IV roared with great intensity. The Reploids in the area, especially X, Zero, Axl and Dragoon felt a sting from those words.

IV clearly thought nothing of Reploids but mere tools of destruction and carnage, and that they should be dealt with as such.

"Hey, _genius_! In case you forgot, the mission was _clearly_ to abduct Minato Arisato, and thanks to your _bipolar anger issues_, we couldn't even maintain an advantage over the Maverick Hunters and S.E.E.S. – even _with_ three members of our group and your Persona – which, mind you, was meant to be _secret_…", Will seethed, the last part being whispered into IV's ear.

"You'd be a horrible poker player 'cause you tipped your hand to early out of arrogance. You gave the enemy a chance to observe our tactics, techniques, and even our usage of Evokers. Do you have _ANY_ clue of the irreversible damage you just caused?", Will continued, IV shrinking in his position.

"P-…point noted…", IV whimpered; how IV knew that Will, out of all the members of their organization, was one to be respected and feared. IV knew that he was fighting a losing battle, especially with the solid facts piling against him.

Will sighed. "Jaguar. We're retreating. The mission's a blatant failure." "…Understood."

"The _hell_ you're getting away!", shouted Flame Stag, charging straight at Will with his Speed Burner readied. Akihiko ran behind the deer Reploid, just off angle of his slipstream to avoid being burned. "Not till what you want from Minato so badly!"

"It's none of your business, but…", Will trialed as he pulled something out of the white sash slung over his shoulder, inside the open overcoat and threw it at the ground shortly in front of Stag and Akihiko and exploded into a smokescreen.

"Death himself is our priority. We will return to extract the key to Nyx's prison; next time, you will all be shown no mercy. The Scourges have yet to purge this land, and we won't stop till we have cleansed it of Reploid _scum_. Till then…"

"…", came a paling Minato, who gulped silently. _'This is bad._'

"Quick! Scan for them! Don't let them escape!", yelled Zero.

"_Sorry, Zero."_, said Alia via the comm.-link. "However they pulled it off, they're long gone."

"DAMN IT!", cursed Axl. Junpei, Akihiko and Ken grit their teeth, Mitsuru bit her lower lip and X questioned what was going on to himself.

'_Three humans with supernatural powers and a hatred for Reploids swoop in when we first came in contact with Minato Arisato's group… I don't like the sound of this. How __**did**__ they know they were here in the first place…? And that thing… that one guy's 'Persona'… are these teens able to use it as well? Just what is it? With all these questions… it's gonna be a long night…_'

With all the cleanup the Hunters'll have to do – from damage control to diagnosing Shade Panther and the other two ambushed Hunters, and assessing exactly what went on in the last half-hour or so, it really _was_ going to be a very, _very_ long night.

Too bad Reploids don't drink coffee.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, IV found himself slammed into the ground by an unknown male and female; the male seemed to be dressed like a blackjack dealer, complete with visor crowning his slicked and spiky blue hair, and the woman had long blond hair curled into circles at the ends, wearing a large sunhat and flowing red dress. Their faces were hidden from view, but the male's red left eye and woman's right yellow eye could be seen.<p>

"YOU MORON!", roared a young male voice; possibly around the same age as IV, judging by the vocal range given off. "HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?"

"My… apologies, master…", IV grieved lightly, hints of annoyance and slight fear in his voice.

"Sorry, does not cut it, IV.", came the young woman in red. "You screwed up big time, and now you must pay for your gross negligence."

"Gee, _Elly_, ever heard of the phrase 'Who asked you'?", IV quipped. This was rewarded with a sharp stomping on his spinal cord, earning a yelp of pain.

"Elly's right, IV; you showed your hand to early, and the other parties were able to counter your cards just in time. Your biggest screwup was your bloodthrist at that one Reploid, Magma Drago—"

"Finish his name, _Gambler_, and I assure you you'll pay with your life.", seethed IV, face half-buried into the cold tile floor of the barely-lit room.

"_Enough_.", commanded the mysterious male voice.

In the back of the room, Will and Jaguar merely stood, remaining silent; it was not their place to raise anything to light right now, despite how they did nothing wrong in their failed mission. They simply watched as their comrade was being court-martialed.

Jaguar, despite being a tomboyish girl with a peppery 'tude, did not like to see her allies bickering; it saddened her. Will on the other hand, stood, eyes closed, displaying a look of annoyance. '_Troublesome._'

The mysterious voice stepped forward, revealing the lilac-haired male from the Moonlight Bridge.

"It's only the first move of the chess game and we have yet to show those _scum_ our true might. It wasn't a _complete_ loss when you think about it."

This caught everyone's attention.

"How so, boss?", asked Gambler. The lilac-haired male smiled.

"Tell me, Will; how would you describe the Hunter's tactics in fighting you…?"

"…They fought as if they didn't want to hurt us; they were restraining themselves, resorting to tactics of evasion and immobilizing their targets, rather than straightforward fighting."

The other man grinned. "Exactly. There are restricted by the Hunter code to never harm a human; they did attack to stun, but not to harm or kill. It could also be their fear or guilt serving to hinder their performance. That is reason enough to say that this mission was not a _total _loss. The fruits of labor, I always say."

"So… what should we do about Minato Arisato? Shouldn't we attempt to acquire him soon?", asked Elly.

"…No; it'd be too much of a gamble to strike again so soon, even with the factors all planned out; there are too many holes to be filled first. I wouldn't want us to venture blindly into enemy territory so easily."

"I see; you'd prefer them to get comfortable first, then strike when they least expect it.", surmised Will.

"Got it in one.", smiled the lilac-haired male. "We have time on our side; let us wait till the fruits bare the ultimate ripeness before the harvest. We will obtain Pharos soon enough. It's only a matter of time."

* * *

><p>And that's Chapter 4; took me a while, with a lot of shit going on in my life, but there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it~!<p> 


	5. ReREAD, ReTRY, ReESTABLISH

Sorry for the long wait. A lot of crap has been going on lately, and I've been piecing this together over some time.

* * *

><p>"<em>Old age is also known as 'time'. It is the most powerful and most absolute aspect of death; it forever stands in the path of those with life." – Barragan Louisenbarn, the 2<em>_nd__ Espada / King of Hueco Mundo_ (BLEACH)

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: ReREAD, ReTRY, ReESTABLISH<p>

* * *

><p>Minato felt uncomfortable. Not because of the fight that happened just a short time ago. Not because of being targeted by a bunch of apparent psychopaths bent on world domination of some kind (at least, one of them was; that IV guy…). It wasn't even the terrible throbbing pain in his skull from being batted about like a tennis ball.<p>

Nope. Not even close.

The discomfort came from Lifesaver, Doppler, Izzy Glow, and Gate – who recently arrived via teleportation to Huter HQ (He may be a Reploid scientist, but after hearing about the Personas, it was an intriguing study between human and Reploid science he'd be foolish to pass up. After all, after creating the Nightmare Investigators, he had a knack for understanding how the brain – human or Reploid – worked. At least a _normal_ brain.

With someone like Minato as a test subject, who was lying on a steel table in nothing but socks and his skivvies, Minato couldn't help but feel like he was about be experimented on similarly to one of those crazy movies Junpei fond of. He just couldn't place whether it was in the 'alien abduction' or 'mad scientist' category. Personally, he was leaning towards the latter.

It fit, too. Gate seemed a little _too_ exuberant to witness Minato's brain patterns on display from the computer screens. It was like he was a kid in a candy store, given the glitter in his eye. Minato internally began to sweat. He was liking this situation less and less. He suspected the purple-armored scientist had something devious up his sleeve.

Outside the room, on the other side of the glass window observing the room, were the rest of S.E.E.S., X, Zero, Axl and Alia.

"Forgive Gate. He's very enthused when science is involved.", Alia said meekly, sweatdropping.

"And you know this _how_?", asked Akihiko, cocking a brow. "We go way back.", replied the blonde Reploid.

"So, what's with playing doctor on Minato?", asked Yukari, secretly not minding seeing Minato's toned frame. It was honestly surprising that someone freshly back from the dead looked so in shape. Just trying to make of it made her feel strange, so he dropped the subject. She still thought he looked handsome.

"Well, long story short…", trialed X. "Right before meeting you guys I and a few comrades had a little run-in with a strange human just before midnight. When midnight struck, well…"

"Every Hunter in the city passed out and woke up precisely at 12:00:01 AM?", quipped Axl.

"…Yeah. The next thing I knew, my five allies hiding in the area – Storm Eagle, Sting Chameleon, Armored Armadillo, Slash Beast and Blizzard Wolfang – were found having gone through a strange metamorphosis; their bodies and anatomies became human-like. Human head, skin, hair, their bodies becoming human size, the works."

Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei, Yukari, Ken, Fuuka, Aegis and even Koromaru exchanged all-around looks, earning curiousity from the Hunter trio.

"Something wrong?", inquired Zero.

Finally, they all, minus Koromaru, said "Dark Hour.", flatly. Mitsuru sighed. "I guess Igor wasn't kidding at all. It really is back."

"The…_Dark Hour_?", asked X. "What's that?"

"To be perfect frank, not much is known about the psychics and boundaries of how the Dark Hour _truly_ works, but it was caused by an accident in 1999 that I think needs to remain buried to avoid opening old wounds.", said Aegis, with Mitsuru and Yukari looking down on the floor.

"That and that it allows Shadows to exist in this plain.", muttered Yukari.

"Shadows?", asked Axl, clearly having heard her.

"…Long story.", said Yukari. "They're monsters that spawn from human emotions that feed on humans that are able to be conscious in the Dark Hour. Otherwise all humans are trapped in coffins, unaware of the Dark Hour and unreachable to Shadows. All technology also goes offline during then, too."

The three Hunters exchanged glances. Yukari blinked. "Was… was it something I said…?"

"You just said technology doesn't work during the Dark Hour, right?", asked Zero.

"It's true. The only mechanical devices that work are Aegis and Koromaru's special collar.", said Junpei, arms folded behind his head.

"Actualy, that's been bugging me. How _does_ Aegis function in the Dark Hour. Scratch that – how in general? She's built far more sophisticated than us Reploids, and acts like X in terms of human action. The only difference is she's 200 years before us.", said Alia.

"I…", began Aegis. Mitsuru stopped her. "Truth is, there are things about us we prefer to keep… 'unasked' for now. I mean, with Minato being cat-scanned and all after what happened, I think that everyone's in an awkward position. We all barely know the other party. So what say we 'properly' introduce ourselves?"

* * *

><p>"Interesting…", muttered Gate, monitoring Minato's neurological and biological activity levels. Doppler wasn't kidding about his abnormally high neurological abilities.<p>

With levels like this, he could even overrun nerve receptors and ignore pain completely in a fight.

Strangely, Minato didn't quite do so against IV. Was it something else? '_Something's off here… I can feel it._'

"Everything all right?", came a voice. Gate turned in surprise, but his expression softened at the sight of Blizzard Wolfang, though still in his 'condition'.

"Ah. Wolfang. How have you been?", Gate asked softly. "Not too bad.", replied the lupine Reploid.

Running a hand through his icicle-colored hair, Wolfang gazed upon the readings of Minato's little 'catscan'. Having dabbled a bit in the subjects Gate tended to study himself from time to time, Wolfang realized why hi9s creator was so infatuated by the blunette Fool.

"His brain waves emit powerful radiation signatures similar to those in science fiction with psychic powers.", mused Wolfang.

Gate shook his head. "Well, it's not fiction anymore, is it?", he said with a light laugh. "Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if all of his friends here had the same abilities. They seemed to be in some sort of group, at a glance."

"Meaning?", asked Wolfang, brow cocked. "Did you notice the red sashes on their left upper-arms?", replied the scentist.

"…Actually…", mulled Wolfang, chin cupped in thought.

"I had Mijinion look into the files Dr. Cain and Signas were able to get from the Kirijo Group yesterday afternoon. A lot of information is missing for some reason, but it's still _quite_ a read."

Wolfang's ears perked. "Did you say 'Kirijo'?", he asked hastily. "Yes, why?"

"…Isn't the red-haired girl among them their leader? And wasn't _her_ family name Kirijo?"

Gate realized his creation's point, the point hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"The role of the leader belongs to someone from the Kirijo clan, eh? How… _interesting_."

Gate walked to the computer and opened up the mail system. "Who are you mailing at this hour?", asked Wolfang.

"Who else, my friend?", Gate said, typing away. "Mr. Shikikata Kirijo – the current President of the Kirijo Group; surely _he_ could enlighten us as to some… discrepancies."

"Meaning…?" "According to a text from Alia, she, X, Zero and Axl are having a little chat with the other teens right now. Suffice it to say, the information was merely introductions and some background data, which check out with the data in the files. However…"

"…?" "…Some things that were brought up were cut short, like personal matters revolving around this 'Dark Hour' and a location named 'Tartarus'. Apparently it's a towaer that existed in the same geographical location as their academy, but all recorded data via Ms. Aegis and Ms. Kirijo's testimonies were missing form the files. That, and so were a few… other things."

"Such as?", inquired the lupine Nightmare Investigator-turned-Hunter.

"Well for one… there was a record of Minato Arisato's death certificate mentioned. But there was no evidence of that from his scan; he's perfectly healthy, minus the exhaustion. Plus, the boy Ken Amada said the date they were whisked from – if there were any sense in that – was April 2, 2010. This meant that from the day of his supposed passing there was roughly a 2 month gap – one they won't speak of. Finally, there's also a missing death certificate of another person among them; one I'm hoping for Mijinion and his team to find."

"Team? And for who?" "I requested a small team of Mijinion and a few 'gifted' Hunters to, well, hack into Kirijo databanks to locate and copy the file."

"You _WHAT_?!", barked Wolfang before harshly being shushed. "I know it borders on serious charges, my friend, but something's been _really_ bugging me. That's why I did it."

"And that reason was…?" "Tell me, Wolfang. What do you know about two young man named 'Shinjirou Aragaki' and 'Ryoji Mochizuki'?"

* * *

><p>Cyber Peacock whistled to himself as he whizzed by the pathways of the Kirijo Grouo Data Mainframe. Being a Reploid able to transmit himself into data onto a computer was an incredible power, but also had some problems of its own.<p>

For one, his teammates – Infinity Mijinion and Dark Mantis – had to make sure his 'vacant' body was unharmed, or he's be trapped in cyberspace indefinitely. Second, even cybersapce had its own laws of physics; he couldn't simply break the space-time barrier or whiz at the speed of light without restriction.

Third, he had to go in with little help from Mijinion or Mantis to bypass security and see to it that nothing was out of place, lest they want to raise suspicion.

After all, Kirijo security rivaled Hunter HQ security to a T. It'd be very back-breaking for Peacock to creep about the mainframe with nary a byte out of place. The last thing Peacock wanted on his flamboyant conscious was for another political bout on his hands. He still yearned to be washed clean of the Repliforce war.

Putting his mindset back to reality, he finally came across the area he'd been looking for: the Kirijo Private Files Section.

As he slipped by the firewall, his beak dropped at the size of the 'library' of information. It was as big as the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.!

"This'll be a while…", sighed Peacock, until something interesting caught his eye.

It was what seemed to be a search function terminal of some kind. Approaching it and inputting keywords that came from memory, Peacock's eyes widened to see the information he sought was right there.

However, there was a rather tight info-lock on the information; he couldn't even attempt to copy the info without risking setting off a hacking alert – the _last_ thing he needed right now.

Cursing under his breath Peacock carefully examined the firewall's password interface. Placing a hand to his chin, Peacock thought thoroughly to himself '_Now, what kind of password would I use for something like this…_?'

He typed in a few characters from a data panel he summoned to input a password.

Gulping lightly, he pressed enter. The password was, surprisingly, the correct one.

Apparently the details from the reports and the data Peacock's team sought were related to a T; the password was 'Gekkoukan'; the high school academy S.E.E.S. attended back in the day.

"Kirijo Group, I've got your number."

After beginning to copy the data, it came to Peacock's attention that the load would take a while. Before he sent a private message to Mijinion and Mantis, something in the files caught his eye.

The filename read 'Ryoji Mochizuki'.

He copied the file and began mulling thorough the details. As he came to a point in the text, his beak slowly gawked open.

"…Whoa.", was all he could say. Then came to the part where he was called 'Death'. Remembering the incident at HQ a short while ago, he recalled what that IV character said about how his group needed Minato for something; something that had to do with 'Death'.

After reading this, Peacock came to a chilling discovery, having read the whole file not once, but twice for good measure.

"This isn't good. If this is correct…", he trailed, gulping. "I gotta get outta here!"

* * *

><p>In Shikikata's office, the Kirijo Preseident looked down from his penthouse office at Abel City's 16th Street East, facing the direction of the Hunter Base by perhaps three quarters of a mile.<p>

Slowly reaching for a glass at the bar in the corner of the room, he proceeded to pouring a shot of bourbon into a sizable crystal glass, and took a long sip.

"Master Shikikata, sir.", came an aged, wise voice, accompanied by a creak of the door.

The man standing there was a man in his mid 50's with a short golf ball-like head of hair, pale skin, a monocle on his left eye, a black suit with white shirt and ebony loafers stepped into the room, bowing at the waist to the redheaded youth.

"My apologies, Master. I'm afraid I have some troubling news. The computer systems have picked up a logging of certain restricted files in the private mainframe. We have reason to believe it was the work of the-"

"I'm well aware, Shimanosuke.", came Shikikata's flat response. The butler, Shinmanosuke, rose up slightly, a surprised look on his face. "S-sir?"

"I knew full well how the Hunters sent a small sting team to copy the info on the S.E.E.S. group. After all, knowledge can be quite addictive. I had to strike a deal with Dr. Cain and the Hunter's commander, Signas, to keep most of the files out of their reach. In essence, I lied to them and manipulated the details enough to keep the events of 2009 at Port Island and the Dark Hour forever in the realm of mystery. It seems that I've failed to uphold my ancestor Mitsuru's wishes. I must accept my defeat with honor."

"Honor, sir?" "…You've been faithful to the Kirijo clan for more that 30 years, my dear friend. You know as much as the clan does of that fateful time. And the deadly secrets that time hid."

Shimanosuke's facial expression hardened. "And now by a twist of fate, those very same members of S.E.E.S. have arrived to this time; almost as if they were given a mission."

There was a moment of silence. Shikikata proceeded to pouring a second glass of bourbon. "No doubt the work of that old man. Care for a drink?"

"You're too kind.", the butler mused as the duo clung glasses, sipping solemnly the murky-colored alcohol.

"Still, the reality is that this strange chain of events has been quite taxing for many people. And not just us. The Hunters, S.E.E.S…. come to think of it, I wonder if my young ancestor has told them anything? Or if the Hunters are willing to dirty their hands further than they did a while back to learn of the truth…? About the Dark Hour. Tarturus. Shadows. The Abyss of Time. Strega. Metis. Pharos. Nyx. And the Velvet Room."

"Do you think they can all handle the truth? An army of Reploids and humans with no concept of the supernatural, flung to that world like bait cast before a carnivorous beast?"

The Kirijo with his left eye sheathed by hair sighed. "The moment they devoured the fruit of knowledge, they sealed their fate. They tasted the fruit of Eden – the apple of knowledge. And we all know you cannot just 'unlearn' something, no matter how scarring or horrible. That is nature. They took the matter out of our hands – it's their problem now."

"…I see. And what of… _them_…?", the monocle-wearing man inquired with a strange seriousness in his voice. The redhead looked back. "It seems that the Scourges decided to make a move rather early. They attempted to jump on Hunter HQ from the front rather quickly from S.E.E.S. arrival. It seems too… _convenient_ for my taste."

"You believe there is a conspiracy at hand, sir?" "Think about it. Even with S.E.E.S.'s arrival on the beach, their identities were never released to the public. On top of that the Hunter Base was attack roughly 30 minutes after, with no accounts of intrusion into the parameter with those attacked."

"So you're saying there may be a traitor on the inside?" "…I ain't saying they had they had such a magical _godsend_ of a scenario on their side. The area they went through would've been guarded at the moment of entry. I should know – Dr. Cain and Signas set up tonight's patrol pattern in front of me by pure chance, and I overheard it. Since the patrol pattern repeats every 10 minutes, it would be impossible to not be seen by so many guards. That is, unless they were familiar with the area."

"So there's an inside job. But it seemed you have another take about this bout."

Shikikata smirked. "As always, your keen intellect is inspiring. Yes, was still bothering me. Tell me: Didn't the attack rub off as… somewhat desperate?"

"Come to think of it, they seemed pressed for time… almost like an 'in-and-out' job. Grab Mr. Arisato and run. At least, one seemed to. Otherwise they wouldn't have acted so desperately. If memory serves, a particular Reploid sparks a buried rage for one of the intruders. That seemed to have cost them the battle and forced them to flee."

"Yes. And least, that's what I've heard. My associates working at the Hunter Base on our behalf from our deal told that much. Obviously he was obligated to keep his lip shut about names for confidentiality purposes; it _is_ the law, after all."

"Yes. Of course.", said the butler. He sipped his drink once more. Shikikata turned face the grand view of his office wall window, his eyes closing slightly, observing the light of the full moon.

Shikikta sighed. "It seems that the time has come. Ready a three-way call with Cain and Signas… and General from Repliforce. I think it's time the shroud of deception was removed from the equation."

Shikikata suckled more on his bourbon. _'I just hope to God I'm not making a terrible mistake…_'

* * *

><p>Repliforce Central Command – 2:03 AM<p>

* * *

><p>"General, sir! I'm coming in!", came a voice. The sliding door to the colossal Reploid's colossal office opened to reveal Colonel, with Frost Walrus and Storm Owl at either side of him, both animal-themed officers seeming nervous.<p>

Colonel couldn't blame them; after receiving a Code Black request for a three-way call between General and Colonel, Cain and Signas and the mysterious Shikikata Kirijo – a young human with intricate knowledge of some mysterious or otherwise sketchy topics – about what happened an hour ago.

General was reviewing the video feed that captured the bout between Minato and IV, including the efforts of the arrival of Chill Penguin, X and the others, some of S.E.E.S. and the interference of William and Jaguar.

But what really caught his interest was the mysterious creatures the spawned from Minato and IV. According to the audio, IV's was named 'Tyr', and Minato's 'Orpheus'.

The term for these creatures was apparently called 'Persona'. This interested the commander-in-chief of Repliforce as to how, apparently, a trio of intruding humans going gung-ho on Hunter Base slaughtered a small battalion of Reploids and bested Chill Penguin, Flame Stag, Red Alert's top dogs, and almost went for the kill on Magma Dragoon.

What shocked him, and eventually Colonel and the higher-ups of Repliforce was that that human, IV, Dragoon's assailant, was a survivor of the Sky Lagoon crash. A crash and series of explosions that yielded not one survivor for a few years, and suddenly one pops up? Even with a suspicious air to the topic that reeks of contradicting theories, the very idea sent chills down many spines.

At least, Frost Walrus had that feeling. Before his rebirth, he didn't think much of humans . They were okay, he guessed. He was never wronged by them, even during the exhibition of Maverick behavior that led to his transfer to the Repliforce. Eventually, after the events of the previous year, he volunteered to assist in community affairs. Being a jovial and somewhat fun-loving yet straightforward Reploid, the walrus was a hit with children, especially during the winter, having participated in creating winter sports possible – he had a growing interest in ice skating, despite his burly build. Since then, he couldn't fathom how humans so young could foster such a vengeance against the world, much less having the power to be a threat with their own hands.

Then again, it became a gossip topic that the one named IV was the sole survivor of the Sky Lagoon crash – the start of the war between Repliforce and the Hunters – and that the girl among them –Jaguar, Frost recalled – was the missing heiress to the Sakamoto Finance corporation chain that was annihilated in the battle of the Eurasia Colony – she, too, was the sole survivor.

For Storm Owl, the one that worried him the most was the male named William; even with the top-notch identification software in the possession of the 'Reploid Trifecta', there was not a single match to that boy.

The fowl Reploid noted that his swordsmanship with the strange-looking black sword was on par with those like Colonel and Zero; he feared the idea of close quarters combat with such a deadly swordsman.

Finally there was the event of IV and Minato summoning their Personas in itself. Such a supernatural ability was unfathomable in this day and age. Sure there was a plethora of ancient books and scrolls that were kept in libraries and museums that _suggested_ the existence of supernatural phenomena, but there was such a lack of proof in which denied any foothold of their existence except as rumors, myths and fairy tales.

However, there were those teenagers that _somehow_ ended up 200 years in the future – and reverse time travel from the year 2010 was vastly impossible, due to the chronological gap in science and technological advances – who knew that phenomenon firsthand (due to Minato, it was implied that all members of their party – 'S.E.E.S'. – possessed that ability as well. It perplexed the owl Reploid as to just how such power worked… and if it can be trusted.

"I know, Colonel. The call with Cain, Signas and Mr. Shikikata Kirijo. I'm fully aware and am on my way. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!", saluted the trio.

* * *

><p>"Um, X…", said Alia as the conversation with the S.E.E.S. group came to a halt. Everyone turned to see Overdrive Ostrich, who simply stood there as the door to the med bay waiting shut.<p>

"Sup guys. Dr. Cain and Signas wants you guys to come to the main control room when Minato Arisato finishes treatment."

"What for?", asked Yukari. "And what exactly are those guys doing with Minato, anyway? He only received some bruising."

"Search me on both accounts, sister.", shrugged Ostrich. "I'm just the messenger; they never gave the 'why'; just the 'what'."

"Huh.", replied Akihiko curtly.

"I was told for you to come ASAP, as soon as Minato's got the all-green. See ya.", Ostrich said as he left the room.

The next moment, Minato walked out of the med room, just finishing putting his black jacket on.

"Minato!" , cried Yukari. Minato smiled, followed by Gate exiting the room and placing a hand on Minato's right shoulder. "I apologize for the long wait; I'm sure Minato has had quite enough of lying flat stripped bare and having nodes all over his body and being absolutely still."

Minato gave Gate a sly look. "What, Doc? No lollipop?"

Gate chuckled. "A sense of humor. I like that. Now run along; there's that call you were told to go to."

"You okay, Minato? They didn't do anything weird, did they?", asked Fuuka, a tad worried.

"Fuuka, I think _anything_ medical is weird. Especially anything involving stripping putting suction cups on you."

"Sounds like a fetish consipiracy.", quipped Ken. Everyone gawked at the preteen's comment. Even Koromaru was surprised.

"You all _know_ he was heading in that direction. It was all over his face.", replied Ken, annoyed.

"… Yes.", sighed Minato, head hung in defeat.

"Well, now that the show's over, let's head to that main room or whatever; I wanna know what's so important.", said Junpei.

"Quite.", replied Mitsuru. "I think that we're probably going to have to explain the Persona ability and the Dark Hour in depth. Especially since there are potential enemies with similar powers."

"Yeah; the same guys could be connected to what happened to Storm Eagle and the others.", noted Zero.

"Then let's go! I'm itching to know what the hell's going on!", said Axl.

By know, everyone, minus Gate and Alia (Lifesaver and Izzy Glow were still in the med room overlooking Minato's bio data), headed to the command center.

"Will everything be okay, I wonder...", mused Gate. Alia nodded, a hint of concern in their voice.

Just as the group headed out, a single thought raced through Minato's head. '_This'll be interesting…_'

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, just as Shjikikata finished refurbishing his attire, Shimanosuke finished preparing the comm.-link to Repiforce's and the Hunter Base's target feeds to begin the conference.<p>

"Well… time to drop some bombshells."

* * *

><p>And CUT! That's chapter 5, folks. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.<p> 


	6. THE GOD PARTICLE

Here's Chapter 6!

* * *

><p>"<em>It's the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter series<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: THE GOD PARTICLE<p>

* * *

><p>Hunter Base, West Residential Wing, Top Floor, Room 5, 2:17 AM<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey did you hear?", whispered Vanishing Gungaroo to Splash Warfly's 'right ear'." "What?", the aquatic Red Alert member asked. The top members of Red Alert were in their personal qurters in the Hunter Base; about the size of 1000 sq. ft. apartment, complete with personal computer terminals, healing pods and a meeting table with 12 chairs for extra guests.<p>

"Appearantly the hotshots of the Hunters and Repliforce are meeting with some top dog of some company that knows something-or-other about those teenagers from before."

"That fast, huh? They sure work like dogs in an emergency, huh?" smiled Gungaroo. "N-no offense, Hyenard."

"None taken. 'Sides, I'm a _hyena_, not a house dog."

Suddenly Red walked into the room through the sliding door. "That's not exactly the case. Remember, it's still roughly 2 in the morning, and some people that should be in this 'meeting' can;t be reached in this late hour."

"Huh? Why?", asked Gungaroo innocently. "Sleep, genius.", sighed Snipe Anteator. "Certain members of the government won;t be able to join in for some time; and that's just out of common sense."

"You saying I ain't got no common sense?!", fumed Gungaroo, shaking his fist in a cartoonish fashion.

"ENOUGH!", barked Soldier Stonekong. "You're being a baby, Gungaroo. And _you_ Anteator, need to stop being an ass. You're an _investigator_, not an _instigator_."

"Tch.", scoffed Snipe. Gungarro pouted, sporting an almost cute face.

"Say, where's Axl~?", asked Tornado Tonion in a sing-song voice. "Yeah... where _is_ the kid?"", mused Wind Crowrang to himself.

"Axl's in the meeting. I couldn't join cuz I've been asked to get us ready for a little... _stakeout_."

"...?", was the expression on everyone's face. "For?", asked Ride Boarski.

"Tell me gentlemen. Anyone hear of a guy named Kurobane Kirijo?"

At the same time, several Reploids were preparing the three-way feed for the transmission; for the Hunters, Layer and Palette. For Repliforce, the duty belonged to Web Spider, who was double-checking that the wiring and communication components were up to snuff and couldn't be impeded. As for the Kirijo Group, the honor belonged to Shimanosuke alone, the middle-aged butler typing about a console and accepting the video feed specs on the software to complete the circuit. The stage would soon be set for the meeting.

The only complication was how the meeting could go down. And with all parties – including S.E.E.S, who would partake in the meeting – sheltering some skeletons in the closet, things could turn ugly relatively fast.

"So.", quipped Junpei. "What's exactly gonna go down?" "Quite frankly, I'm not sure. As I recalled, it was Mr. Kirijo who arranged this meeting. He claimed it was of utmost importance. He also requested your presence, which is, in all honesty, a tad concerning.", replied Signas.

"So he knew we were here? How?", Akihiko asked, silently eying Mitsuru, who seemed intrigued by the mention of her family name. Signas also caught that glint in her eye, clearly a bit worried.

"I looked into the guy earlier last night.", admitted Zero. "Apparently he's a very successful businessman and philanthropist, basing most of his business in Iwatodai and the surrounding cities; however, he lives in Abel, which is easier for us to access him in case of anything related to what's going on.", said Zero.

"Seems legit.", admitted Junpei. He then noticed Fuuka's expression. "She seems a bit worried, tucking in her lower lip.

"Somethin' wrong, Fuuka-tan?", asjed the baseball cap-wearing Magician. The aquamarine-haired High Priestess snapped to reality, 'Oh!'-ing and said "Oh, i-it's nothing, Junpei-kun. Just... something's been bugging me..."

"And that is...?", inquired X. Axl looked in Fuuka's direction, in which he previously had his arms crossed and faced the giant screen.

"Those three from earlier... when we arrived to when Minato-kun was being attacked... I was able to read their auras for a second. Especially the two-toned hair man with the scars."

"And?", asked Ken. "Well...how should I put this...", trailed Fuuka. "Clearly they were Persona-users, like us and Strega..."

"Yes, go on.", said Signas. "It's just that... their auras... felt different somehow... no, 'odd' may be the best word..."

"I think I know why." chimed Minato, looking down a bit. Everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?", asked Yukari. "Yes, care to explain?", asked Mitsuru.

"Well, for one thing... they seemed rather driven to get me for some reason. Like I had something...", the blunette said, mumbling the last part.

The members of S.E.E.S immediately exchanged silent looks. They had a good guess as to what Minato was alluding to...

"Okay, connections are established. This is Layer, reporting for the Maverick Hunters.", the purple-haired navigator said.

"This is Web Spider. Repliforce connection feed established.", replied the arachnid Reploid from the Repliforce Base.

"My name is Sentarou Shimanosuke, personal butler and right-hand man for President Kirijo. Connections verified."

At this point, Signas, General and Shikikata took their positions and started the meeting.

"My name is Shikikata Kirijo, 13th President and Chairman of the Kirijo Group.", the redheaded male introduced.

"I am General, leader of the Repliforce." "Likewise for the Maverick Hunters, Signas."

There was a moment of silence. Akihiko whispered "There's a resemblance." to Mitsuru, something that she noticed between the man on-screen and herself. Had the sex barrier been broken – and Shikikata's hair was flat, the mirroring of the two would've been uncanny.

"I see that everyone's accounted for. Let's start.", Shikikata said, running a hand in his hair. "As you may or may not know, three people were able to successfully mount a strike upon Hunter Base at around 1 AM; no even 2 hours ago. That is for certain."

"How exactly did you come across this information...?", inclined General.

"...", began the red-headed male. "For one thing, my penthouse office faces Hunter Base. It was hard to ignore the bright flashes of light in the pitch-black wee hours of the morning. And it's amazing how fast the Internet can grab wind of some things."

Cain gave a side glance, almost looking ashamed. '_He must've gotten wind of Cyber Peacock..._'

"I can see why you're so suspicious.", admitted the Kirijo. "After all, it's got to be weird hearing such tight-lipped info come from an unlikely source. Then again, we all have our 'aces-in-the-hole', like your associate, Cyber Peacock, a Reploid capable of digitizing himself into a computer system and travel in cyberspace at will. He did his best to grab some files undetected, but I caught him red-handed as he lost his cool."

'_Lost his cool? __**Peacock**__? What could've happened?', _Colonel asked himself whilst watching the live feed. Colonel remembered the bird's part in deepening the wounds in the Repliforce War; it was very hard to track him, let alone delete him at the time.

"I'm not mad.", admitted Shikikata. "In fact, I am quite relieved that you took interest in those files, Cain."

This caught everyone's attention. "You see, I gave you those files yesterday afternoon of S.E.E.S., that much is certain. But their were some crucial details left out – details kept under lock and key. Details that could rock the scientific community irreversibly if left in the wrong hands. Hands like the teenagers from the attack."

Mitsuru stepped forward. "Oh really? Such as?" Shikikata observed Mitsuru for a few silent seconds. "It's really you..." "Excuse me?" Shikikata cleared his throat. "N-never mind. The truth is that those three... I know they are, and what they're after."

"!", was the written expression of everyone's faces, minus the male Kirijo and his butler. Said butler gave off a grim face. The light from his monocle creating a foreboding aura to him.

"How, exactly?!", X asked, almost demandingly. "Those three endangered many lives both human and Reploid! Any information you have on them is crucial!"

"...", Shikikata bowed his head in silence. "There's... a few things you should know. It started with my predecessor and great grandmother... Mitsuru Kirijo."

"!", expressed Mitsuru. "Then you're...!" "That's right. I'm your descendant. We have the same hair and eyes, I thought it'd be obvious."

"...", The Kirijo princess looked away and blushed, silently cursing her overlooking a comically simple fact. "Y-you said something about me starting something?"

"It was roughly 2 weeks after you took over for your father in the Kirijo Group after news of his passing became public. During your graduation speech at Gekkoukan High School, Year of 2010."

The Reploids in the Hunter Base room and Repliforce command center being part of this feed noted Misturu's expression; it was somber.

"You... know the truth, don't you...?" "...Yes." "...From when, if I may ask?" "You may. From you when you were only 7 years old; your first time in Tartarus." "... That far back, huh?" "The original files _were_ constructed by you, ancestor. If you read them yourself, you'd know your own handiwork."

Mitsuru paused before looking up at the screen, smiling a little, which caught Shikikata off-guard live. "You really are of Kirijo blood. And please – call me Mitsuru; 'ancestor' makes me feel older than being called 'great-grandmother'."

Shikikata averted his gaze from the camera, blushing. Shimanosuke solemnly chuckled into his balled fist offscreen.

"As truly enthralling as this conversation is, aren't we veering a tad off course?", inquired General.

"M-my apologies. Before I begin, what _do _you know of the events S.E.E.S. partook in in 2009? S.E.E.S. aside, of course."

"Just the data you gave Signas and I yesterday afternoon. Come to think of it, why _did_ you bother giving us those files in the first place?", asked Dr. Cain.

"That's been bugging me for a while.", said Zero. "You make it seemed like this was _planned_."

Shikikata sighed. Almost one of defeat. Zero's eyes narrowed. _'Jackpot_.'

"...I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I _didn't_ fudge the circumstances a little. But I had to see to it that the Hunters and such, along with S.E.E.S. saw my lure, and go after it. It was the only way."

"How did you know we were coming in the first place? That's been bugging _me_ this whole time!", barked Junpei. Yukari looked at Junpei, then at Shikaikata's feed. '_Junpei does have a point_...'

"...Elizabeth.", the male Kirijo's response. All of S.E.E.S. gasped.

"What the hell?!", gawked Akihiko. "As in from the Velvet Room?!", asked Aegis.

"The very same.", replied Shikikata. This time, Minato stepped forward, earning everyone's gaze.

"If you know Elizabeth... if you know of the Velvet Room... have you been there?", the blunette asked with a surprising power in his voice.

The navigators, Web Spider and Shimanosuke were surprised whilst offscreen.

"...And if I had?", replied the redheaded Kirijo Group president.

"Show me evidence. Show me me your 'proof'.", Minato declared, almost like a command.

Shikikata was surprised by the Fool's request, but for only for a moment. He smirked, eyes closed in graceful defeat. "...Very well. I owe you that much."

He slowly reached for something in his coat pocket. Slowly, he produced a blue bookmark with a light-blue butterfly decoration on the top center. It read 'Shikikata Kirijo' in kanji. And English, vertically and side-by-side.

"I suppose this settles your request?", Shikikaka asked. Minato looked stunned. Then, after a moment, he smiled. "You peeked my interest. How _did_ you get a hold of a Velvet Pass?"

"A _what_?", asked Axl before Zero shushed him.

"It's a long story, but to put it short, I ended up coming to _them_ instead of the other way around."

Minato was perplexed. "Are you serious?" "It's no joke. In fact, my butler Shimanosuke is the only person aside from everyone in this feed that knows this exists. I had researched tirelessly since my coming of age in the Kirijo clan and learning of 2009 about _everything_. Shadows, Personae, the Arcana, Tartarus, Strega, Nyx, Pharos, the list goes on for what seems like forever. I then came across the notes on how Minato accessed the dimension."

"...The back alley in the Paulownia Mall?", asked Minato.

"The very same."

"Anyone able to follow what's going on?", asked Axl, cocking his head. Zero and X shrugged.

"This is _way_ over my head...", muttered Palette.

Minato narrowed his eyes. "Do you have a Persona?" "...Yes." "I see..."

Another moment of silence. Finally, someone spoke – it was General. "Pardon my intrusion on this... intriguing tale, but I have a question."

"Go on.", replied Shikikata. General cast a stern gaze. "Those three from the base attack. Do you know of them?"

"..." Shikikata expressed silently. The parties waited in suspenseful silence, hovering on baited breath."

"...If you ask I am synonymous with them, the answer you seek is 'no'. I _do_, however, know of their group."

"Then tell us! Time is of the essence, and who knows what they're planning", Signas yelled.

"...The Scourges." "...?", Signas expressed.

"That's their group name. They're a highly unknown group of humans with Persona powers who are anti-Reploid on all counts. Their hatred is said to be stemmed from losing everything to Mavericks, and seek solace in their genocide – Maverick and Reploid with extreme prejudice. They have the power to fight evenly with berserk Mavericks with relatively even ground like it's no problem."

Everyone was shocked. Then again, remembering how IV, Will and Jaguar were able to wipe the floor with a squad of Reploids with Chill Penguin and made a mockery of Flame Stag, it was highly possible there was merit in the statement, despite the ludicrousness with said statement.

"And how did you know of them before _us_?", inquired Signas. "Mass Reploid deaths fall under our radar, you know."

"It's amazing how one how what those with the power to prance about in the Dark Hour can do. What happened to your five comrades could have been their doing. Then again, it does not fit their M.O."

"How so?", inquired Zero.

"Think about it, man.", said Shikikata. "They _despise_ Reploids. Enough to slaughter on sight without second thought. In addition, they were once Mavericks. Mavericks that harmed humans – or worse. This question is obvious: 'Why are they still alive?'"

"!", the Original Maverick gaped. Then it made sense. Why keep them alive, indeed.

"Maybe they were experimenting.", quipped Ken innocently. Everyone looked at the boy.

"Meaning...?", Axl asked. "W-well, back in our time, there were a lot of experiments on Shadows and the Dark Hour. It's been 200 years since then, so who really knows when it came back and all the research advances sine then. Anything's fair game any way you look at it..."

Colonel rubbed his pointy chin. "The lad brings up a good point. Without much information, one can only assume what _could_ be possible instead of what _is_. This 'Dark Hour' is most perplexing."

"What makes it worse is that any and all electronics and machinery also 'sleep' for that time, unaware of it unless made aware. However X and the others were knocked out only makes sense if that 'Mystery Person X' was capable of forcefully awakening the awareness of the Dark Hour. Of course, it is merely a theory." Shimanosuke chimed in.

"And what of the rest of us Reploids? Why were _we all_ considered 'conscious' in the Dark Hour?", asked Web Spider.

"Well, sense of time and state of mind are distorted during the shift between the flow of real world time and the Dark Hour." replied Mitsuru. "It would not surprise me if these 'Scourges' took advantage of that fact all this time. That must be their ace-in-the-hole, using logic to distort what really happened. If a Reploid was stabbed by a blade or shot by a piercing bullet, and their mortality was endangered, it would not surprise me if the lag time sped them to their deaths."

"No trace left behind... Speaking of. How did you learn of these people, Mr. Kirijo?", inquired Dr. Cain.

"...Like I said: purely by chance. They attempted to break into my office to seize a an artifact, but I caught them in the act due to me working late at night. I was able to chase them out, but not before learning that these people meant business."

"And there was no casualties, no detectable mess. It was thanks to Shimanosuke and my brother. You may know him."

"Who?", asked Dr. Cain. Alia gasped. "Kurobane... Kirijo...!"

"How?", asked Fuuka. "How did they clean all evidence in such short time? -gasp- Unless..."

"Yep. Kurobane has a Persona named 'Thoth' under the Wheel of Fortune – it controls time to an extent."

"Enough to erase the evidence of a struggle, I take it.", said Palette.

"Exactly. Come to think of it... I wonder what he's doing right now... probably in a deep sleep from working a long shift at Cain's hospital..."

* * *

><p>MEANWHILE...<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is the right place...?", asked Wind Crowrang.<p>

"According to the note, this is the place.", Red replied. "East Abel sector 2B, 3000 East Riverside Avenue. No mistake. He lives in this apartment building."

The building seemed simply enough... if you lived in an a slightly more luxurious lifestyle than most folk, seeing as how the grounds and buildings themselves stood 3 stories tall and housed around 15 patios per building, complete with lakes and long walking trials in this preserve. Without knowing the residence information, it would be a while to find him.

"The note said '410-303', what does _that_ mean?", asked Splash Warfly. "I'd wager that the '410' is the building number and '303' is the apartment.", quipped Snipe Anteator."

"Worth a shot.", Stonekong shrugged. "Hey... where'd Gungaroo and Hyenard go...?"

"Those punks!", snorted Ride Boarski, punching his opposite palm. "Going ahead without us...!"

"1000 zenny says they get lost.", quipped. Stonekong. "I'd imagine.", sighed. Red.

ELSEWHERE, IN THE COMPLEX

"Hyenard...?" "Yeah?" "Think we're lost...?" "...Probably."

The kangaroo joey and hyena Reploids walked down a cement tile path the curved along a lake. Even in the darkness of the full moon sky, the flowers and dew-licked grass glowed radiantly in the basking light. It was a tad pretty, they had to admit; it had charm to it.

"They said '410-303', right?", asked Gungaroo. "That's what I heard, too.", replied the fire-based Reploid.

They walked past a wood-planked bridge connecting to an office when they spotted a plague on the first floor of a building with a big '410' on it. It was then they realized that the buildings were actually double-sided – there were in fact _30_ apartments in the buildings, not 15.

"Hyenard to Red. We found the building. Sending coordinates." "Got it.", replied Red on the commlink.

"Heehee~ we found it first~!", cheered Gungaroo in a soft, seemingly cutesy voice, giggling into his hand.

"Huh.", Stonekong uttered. Tornado Tonion giggled as he and Crowrang flew towards Hyenard's position, of to where Kurobane resided.

The rest followed suit.

When they arrived, they slowly, quietly reached the third floor of the building, careful to not awaken anyone in the complex by accident; since Stonekong and Tonion were too large to fit in the staircase, they stood watch at the entrance.

As Red Alert reached Apartment 305, they stopped. Exchanging looks, Crowrang slowly pulled out a skeleton key of sorts, slowly reaching the doorknob's keyhole.

However, things suddenly turned for the unexpected. To their surprise, the doorknob twisted and slowly opening the door was a 5'11 – 6 foot tall young man in his mid 20's with ruby bedhead hair, wearing a white sleeveless top and blue pajama pants; he seemed fairly muscle-toned, given his arms and slight peek at his abs. He was wearing white shower slippers. He rubbed his ruby red eyes with his right wrist, looking fairly annoyed, considering the bags under his eyes.

"It's 3 AM. What do you want?", he asked curtly.

"You knew we were coming, didn't you...?", asked Red planinly.

"The Kirijo clan isn't taken by surprise so easily. Or haven't you heard?"

"...Touche. Sorry to bother you, but we got orders regarding what happened at Hunter Base earlier tonight."

"I'd imagine so.", the redhead sighed. This alarmed Red a bit. "How did you...?"

"Word travels fast on family channels." Of course, Crowrang and Anteator could tell he was lying; the answer was _too_ straightforward for their taste.

"Family channels...?" Gungaroo asked aloud.

"I'm part of the Kirijo clan, remember? Don't let my appearance or residency fool you.",the shorthaired young man quipped. "I know everything."

"Then shouldn't you have been at the conference call?", asked Hyenard.

"Dude.", Kurobane spat. "I've been working 2 days straight at Cain hospital on some serious medical stuff. Yes, I should be there, but I haven't slept for almost 60 hours, and I _really_ need to something other than counting pills for a prescription or cc's in a IV fr once."

"...You're a doctor?", asked Red. "Close to it. I've been in med school for a while; gonna practice medicines – neurological meds always interested me."

"Huh." Before Kurobane could close the door and wish them goodnight, Crowrang asked a peculiar question. "Pardon me asking, but would you know anything regarding a private chat between Dr. Cain, Signas and Shikikata Kirijo?"

The redhead shot the crow Reploid a strange look. "Not that I know of... just an exchange of some kind."

"Are you sure?" "Why the sudden mistrust, may I ask?" "Something from a report from not even 12 hours ago had mentioned your name. Are you sure there's nothing to be said?"

"...Well, the is one thing." This caught some attention.

"You didn't hear this from me, but... my brother an I have reason to believe we may have a possible lead on the attackers."

"!", Red Alert gasped.

"However, it's not sound, and a pretty shaky connection."

"Got a name?", asked Red.

"...I'm afraid that information is classified for now."

Before Kurobane shut the door, he said "And the next time that 'Cyber Peacock' guy tries to wreck my security firewalls, he'd better make _damn sure_ I won't find out."

* * *

><p>BACK AT THE CONFERENCE CALL...<p>

* * *

><p>"And that's all I know.", said Shikikata. "You guys look exhausted. What say we pick this up in the morning?"<p>

Minato still had questions, but even he knew that it was roughly 3 AM. They need tho get accustomed to this time fast and most of the group was running on empty.

"...Thank yo for your time.", Minato said meekly. "Oh, no, the pleasure was all mine.", Shikikata bowed. "Have a good evening."

And with that the feed was cut off.

"Shikikata Kirijo...", Mitsuru found herself saying.

* * *

><p>MYSTERY LOCATION, AT THE SAME TIME PERIOD<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you certain?", asked the mysterious lilac-haired man.<p>

"Positive. I can confirm that those Hunters were contacted by the Kirijo Brothers – Shikikata and Kurobane. Kirijo, however, came to the Hunters and Repliforce via live feed conference; Kurobane, however, was approached by Red Alert", said a cool male voice; it turned out to be Will, the brunette from earlier.

"I see. That's fine."

"Shouldn't we...?" "Strike? Oh, heavens no~! It's far too early to mount an assault. We don't even know Minato Arisato's 'state' as of yet. Best not go with a foot in the grave."

"Y-yes, sir.", Will said bowing his head slightly.

"Yes. And what of retrieving 'that man'?" "We are arranging for 6 AM; during the changing of the guard. What was his story again, sir?"

"...Something about being being a experiment that slaughtered a slew of Repliforce soldiers. There was only one survivor, who only lost an eye from his rampage."

"You don't mean..." "That Reploid Slash Beast is going to relive an old nightmare when 'The Lost Wolf' gets out of confinement. I can hardly wait.", the mysterious leader beamed evilly.

Will could only stare at his master, a blank stare in his visible yellow eye. '_This should be interesting..._'

* * *

><p>And there we go. The long-awaited 6th chapter at last (at least for me to finish, lol.) Hope you enjoyed it!<p> 


	7. Sanguine Circle

And now, Chapter 7.

* * *

><p>"<em>Before God we are equally wise – and equally foolish.<em>" –Albert Einstein

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Sanguine Circle<p>

* * *

><p>Mysterious Location, roughly 6 AM<p>

* * *

><p>It was dark in the room a young man slept in. It was also a bit chilly and a tad damp, certainly since the man was not wearing anything on his feet, resting on a sheet-less bed in the corner of the room. There was a single, very small window connected to the ceiling that allowed a miniscule amount of natural light in.<p>

The features the light revealed were his shaggy and rather milky chocolate hair, his long-sleeved shirt and pants with thickened navy and black stripes panning across, and wore a slacked beige body sweater wrapped around his waist, and a manacle around his bare left ankle with a broken chain that extended about 5 links.

At the sound of a cry, the young man's eyes fluttered open. Sitting up and stretching, his nose flared with a strange scent. It was strong, which caused him to cup his nose, his eyes tearing a bit.

'_The hell is this scent...? Is this... blood?_'

The young man shook his head, remembering that the _human_ guards don't show till the noon hours. Judging by the light of the sun peaking into his window, it had to be 6 AM or so.

The smell intruded his thoughts again. "Good god! Seriously, the fuck could possibly smell so-"

Then it hit him. It _was_ blood. _Reploid_ blood, and lots of it. But there was something else... ammonia, maybe? Was something going on?

Then the man was officially creeping out when the locks on the outside of the door slowly retracted back into the mechanism or, for the laser locks, were disarmed.

Now, this young man had a special talent: he wasn't an ordinary human, for one. He was an orphan who was experimented on illegally by human scientists to be given abilities akin to stronger animals to survive Maverick attacks, and eliminate the threat as a top-secret taskforce. Sadly for them this young man wiped them out when he finally got the chance to escape, not letting a single one survive. When a Repliforce squad who was stationed nearby and was ordered to contain him found this out, well... it wasn't exactly a battle for the books; it was a one-sided massacre.

It brought a sense of tingly joy to the male from the tragic ends he enacted on those Repliforce goons. It awakened the true extent of his animalistic abilities. After all, wolves – his 'partnered' animal - were considered one of the most adept predators to ever walk the earth. Solemn and solo, yet able to hunt by the horde in needed. Graceful assassins that don't mind tearing apart the prey or predator so long as their fill was satiated, the sweet reward in its bloodthirsty maw.

That was not lost on this young man, whose DNA was spliced with every superior gene of wolves from all sorts of species.

This enabled him during the bloodshed to take advantage of a superior sense of smell, able to hunt down the Repliforce grunts by the very scent of energy fluids and lubricants that was their equivalent of human blood.

Not one escaped. Well... save for one.

Returning to real time, the prisoner and heir-apparent experiment slowly reached for the door, aware that there was an unfamiliar scent on the other side. It was that of a bloodthirsty maniac, the kind of chill sent down the male's spine that seems like he met a kindred spirit sort of chill, but with no hint of malice behind it. It made the man curious.

As the door slowly opened outward, the two figures met their gazes and revealed their features to one another.

The male was about 6'5", had milk chocolate brown that parted to the left with a tiny part well above his right eye with very long strands and bangs that eclipsed his forehead, partially obscuring the top of an X-shaped scar stretching over his hose to the inner corners of his eyes and the outside of his lips, almost reaching his chin, which sported a hint of W-shaped peach fuzz. His milk chocolate eyes held no light to them; just a black iris in the center of both eyes. The center of his shirt and right sleeve were severely torn, revealing his fair muscle tone and physique, with a peek of a six-pack jutting from the vertex of the southern rip. His right arm suggested he had impressive arm strength. He was, as stated before, barefoot, with long, pointed toenails – canine-like nails – and wore a thick black manacle around his left ankle with a chain connected to it, five links long; the cuff of the left pant leg was very tattered. Two pairs of sharp conjoined fangs protruded from his lips pointing down.

The man saw his visitor to be a young, beautifully-figured woman in a red one-piece gown ending with long sleeves, the wrists and waist ends embroidered with rose lace, all single stitch. She wore a beige-fabric sunflower hat worn by mistresses, which had a large red bow ribbon wrapped around the cranium of the hat, which partially veiled her long golden hair that was curled inwards to look like here bangs were a set of long hooks, while a groomed tuft of blond hair shrouded the left of her honey-lemon eyes. She had medium-length eyelashes and had a rosy shade of polish on her nails.

The baffling part from all this about rather stunning young girl – she had to be in her mid-20's -was that to the prisoner, she smelled of the 'blood' from earlier, but not one drop of the foul fluids sullied her beautiful appearance in the slightest.

"You can tell, can't you? That little ol' me killed all those bad guards? Or that I overpowered a group of _Reploids_ without any problems?", she said with a heavenly voice, a sweet smile on his mouth.

The lupine man surveyed the area behind her. Indeed, not one of the guards – all Reploids – showed signs of movement. "I'd ask how you did this, which is impressive enough, but I'm more curious about how you learned of this place... and why you just freed me. Don't you know who I am?"

The smile on the girls face did not falter. This intrigued the male.

"That's not important right now, but yes, I know everything about you. That's why my master wanted you... to join us."

"...So you're some kind of organization, an order of sorts. Your motive?" "Very keen of you. We are all a group of people who were stripped of everything held dear thanks to the Maverick Wars, and are working to exact our vengeance on a world that yearns to bury such sorrow like yesterday's trash. Poetic, really, since we now have the ultimate means of success."

The wolfman pondered for a second. "So revenge is your game. Revenge against a world that wants to kiss and make up, putting to death all notions of a pain-ridden past, pretty much speaking for the dead who lost their lives for a pointless cause. You hate Reploids that much, don't you?"

The smile twisted a little. "And why not, after all I lost? Those guards over there? They were perfect exercise."

"Exercise, huh?", he grinned maliciously. "You got style. What's your name?"

"That call me Elly. 'Crescent Moon' Elly. And you're-" "I ain't got a real name. Lost it when I was a kid."

"Lost, huh...? Then... how about 'Lost'? Sound good?"

Lost grinned. "Love it. So! Know a way out?"

"Since I killed all the guards before they could relay a distress call to anyone, and in addition to all of the other prisoners on this island prison, we get to have a nice stroll to the exit for our ride. Y'know, to chat."

"You kill off an entire prison just for a 'chat'? Y'know, there's something real... _sexy_ about that, to be honest."

Elly grinned deviously. "I aim to please. Shall we?", she asked, gently outstretching his hand to the wolfman. He gently took her hand like a gentleman.

"So… what do you wanna talk about?"

* * *

><p>REPLIFORCE BASE, 6:07 AM<p>

* * *

><p>As the report of the prison break – and subsequent slaughter – was told to Colonel on screen by a Repliforce grunt on the other side of the line. He couldn't help but feel a wave of shock.<p>

After all, an entire prison – with all of its inhabitants, both guard and prisoner, human and Reploid - were wiped off the map without a peep or blip on the radar was a _pretty_ big deal. What worried him was the _last_ detail. 'Only one cell was opened normally.'

This heavily implied that the perp forcefully opened the cells and killed all the other prisoners and guards, which explained that perhaps one motive behind this bloodbath was a breakout.

"Do you know whose cell was opened normally?", asked Colonel. At this time, Frost Walrus walked in through the siding door, a clipboard in hand.

"Well... we think we might have an idea. A prisoner was in fact missing from the massacre.", the soldier gulped. Colonel didn't like the sound of that. "Who, if I may ask?"

"...Prisoner Number "0013" - 'The Wolfman', according to the records.", he said somberly.

Colonel's attention was attracted to the sound of Frost Walrus dropping the clipboard, a look of terror on his face.

"The...'Wolfman'...?!", he shuddered with a dash of fear.

"Walrus?", asked Colonel. "You know of the prisoner...?"

"...Remember the infamous night when a small group of Repliforce soldiers were killed trying to transfer an experimental human with strange powers that slaughtered the lab he was kept in...?"

"Yes, I remember; the young man was experimented on since he was a child, which warped his psychosis and made him a very dangerous threat. Where are you going with this...?"

Walrus gulped. "Remember the one soldier who survived...? The one lucky enough to knock the kid out and escape with his life, just as backup arrived...?"

Colonel gasped."Y-you don' think...?"

"Sir... Slash Beast escaped with only an eye. I think that 'The Wolfman' is going to finish the job."

"Good God... I gotta warn General. And the Hunters. Slash Beast was over there and was affected by that 'humanization' phenomenon. Without him at peak condition, he's a sitting duck.", cursed the Repliforce second-in-command.

* * *

><p>HUNTER BASE, roughly 2 minutes later<p>

* * *

><p>Slash Beast found himself placing a clawed hand to his eyepatch on his left eye, his ruby right eye dulling a tad from his drooping orange cream hair.<p>

"Something wrong?", asked Armored Armadillo while reading a book with a mahogany cover, flipping a page.

"I... have a bad vibe for some reason." "How can you tell...?" "My war wound feels like it's 'itching' – that's usually a sign that something is going to happen. Or... _happened_."

"...", mused the purple-haired humanized Hunter. "If you don't mind me asking, Slash... How exactly did you _get_ that wound...?"

The lion-themed Repliforce superior sighed softly. "It... isn't exactly how you'd think I got it. I mean... it wasn't exactly a 'war wound'. I never got it from a Maverick."

"!", expressed Armadillo in his magenta eyes. "Not from a Maverick? Then... did you..."

Slash Beast's expression turned somber. "...It was several years ago. A while before the Repliforce fought the Hunters thanks to Sigma's coercion. I..."

Slash Beast placed his hand on his patch again. "I still see the bloodshed of that day. All those soldiers and human guards... he was so fast... and I was only a cadet without my stripes who couldn't see it coming."

Armadillo realized it as he pieced the puzzle together. "A... human did that?", he asked in slight amazement.

Slash Beast looked solemn. "To be honest... I... was afraid. He was no ordinary human." Slash looked over to Armadillo.

"_He was like a demon_."

At that time, Overdrive Ostrich burst into the room, a bead of sweat on his beak. Tripping over his foot in a frantic state, he landed on his palms, a freaked expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Ostrich?", gawked Armadillo, standing from his seat.

"W-we got trouble! There was-!", the bird Hunter gasped.

"Was...?", asked Slash Beast. Ostrich's expression was a mix of grim fear and frenzy. "The Rouken Prison Island east of Abel City... the populous was just found dead! Every guard and prisoner – human and Reploid – were slaughtered! It's horrible!", he shrieked.

Slash Beast's expression was of pure fear. "Did... did you say... _Rouken_?"

"Y-yeah. You know of it...?", asked Ostrich. Armadillo put two and two together again. "Don't tell me..."

The lion-themed Reploid turned semi-human gulped, starting to break a sweat. "That's... that's where... _he's_ held...!"

"The kid who killed your comrades and took your eye, right?" Armadillo concluded. Ostrich gaped at this. "Whoa..."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a slightly sleepy Yukari was wandering the hallway, unable to sleep, until she heard this whole conversation through the door. She cupped her mouth with one hand. "Oh my god..."

"Ostrich. Are you _sure_ there were no survivors...? What happened to cell number 16?"

"16... Was that that guy's cell?" "Last I checked, yes."

"...It was... the only door opened normally. All other cells in the solitary wing were cleaved open, the locks and hinges neatly cleaved as if by a sharp blade." "..."

"So... could it have been a jailbreak?", Ostrich asked. Slash Beast remained silent. His left lion ear then twitched. "Who's there?"

The doors opened to reveal Yukari, a glum expression on her face. The Repliforce officer realized she heard the whole thing. "So you heard, huh?"

"More or less.", replied the archer girl. "So. What do you plan to do?"

"...I don't quite know actually. I feel somewhat responsible for the events in the past. I probably will have guilt on my conscious if I don't at least see the place for myself..."

Yukari looked to Ostrich. "I heard you say that the culprit cut threw the cell doors with a blade weapon, right? Did you catch an image of the culprit?"

Ostrich blinked before gasping. "Now I remember! It was a young woman! A human with blonde hair and red gown dress!"

Armadillo glared. "Why didn't you say this before?!" "I...", Ostrich stammered before blushing. "I forgot...?"

Yukari's expression hardened. "If you're going, can I accompany you? If a human was able to carry out this attack, chances are this person's connected to the ones who attacked last night. You'll probably need some backup."

"There's very kind of you, but...", the lion-themed Reploid stated. "I don't mean to offend, but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I let humans get hurt in Hunter or Repliforce affairs."

Armadillo and Ostrich nodded, knowing exactly where this was going. Yukari's expression did not waver, however.

"I fully understand. However, I had a hunch about this attack and the one from last night. If they are connected... then you'll need one of us, without a doubt."

"What do you mean?", asked Ostrich. He then gawked as Yukari withdrew her Evoker from her inner shirt pocket.

"One of them had a gun like this, which summons something called 'Persona'; it wouldn't be a far-cry guess to think that a good number of these guys have the same power – the power S.E.E.S. has."

"Hmm..", pondered Armadillo.

"And if I'm right, you'll probably need someone like me to help fight them; only Personas can harm Personas." Slash absorbed the information, pondering for a moment. "There's still one problem."

Yukari blinked. "And _that_ is...?" Slash Beast sighed. "What do you think?", he seemingly whined, lightly pulling his right cheek with his clawed hand, stretching it a bit. "Well... I guess there's _that_..."

Slash gave off a sardonic grin. "Yeah. Repliforce taking orders from a commanding officer that inexplicably metamorphs from some unseen hocus-pocus – seems like a typical day at the office. Next thing you know I'd turn into a life-sized plush doll."

Yukari chuckled nervously. "Not to mention some kids who were zapped 'back to the future' and a sneak attack causing a magic act out of thin air. It does look like a last-minute mess any way you slice it." She then steeled her expression a bit. "But it really doesn't matter in the end. If what you say is true, and given what happened last night, it'd be too convenient for both incidents to be so well thought out; especially in the beginning."

"Okay, _now_ I'm lost.", sighed Ostrich. "You know, that's been bugging me too.", Armadillo admitted. "Think about it; the one glaring problem wasn't that it happened – it's how it was carried out." "And let's pretend I didn't know where this was going…", Ostrich asked, expressing that, frankly for a fast-running Hunter, he was falling behind fast on this track.

'_You could've just said it flat out, man...'_ Armadillo sighed, expression not betraying the thought. "What I'm getting at is that when those humans 'swung by', there was no alert of their intrusion. The security went off because they _wanted_ to be seen. On the other hand, I still can't wrap around the concept of anyone or anything turning an _island prison_ into a slaughterhouse without even one opportunity to call for help. There are so many holes I can barely count them."

"Huh.", the land bird Reploid replied. "So, why did they bother going to Rouken in the first place?"

Slash Beast was silent for a moment. "The sole survivor was the guy who slaughtered my unit all those years ago – and left his mark." The lion-themed Reploid 'with a makeover' jabbed a thumb at his eye patch. "If you ask me, this looks more like a recruitment than anything else. Those three from before were humans with abilities; it's not that odd a guess at this point."

"Yeah, but back in my time those with Persona don't have superhuman abilities of their own. At least, none as pronounced as last night. We're just normal students when you take our Personas away.", added Yukari. _'Well, there was…_'

At that moment the door to the room again slid open; this time, Douglas walked in with Junpei in tow; the baseball cap-wearing lad rubbing the back of his temple with a nerous laugh-like expression.

"Douglas?", asked Ostrich. "What's up?" "Oh, just thought I dropped by."

"And the kid?", cocked Armadillo, motioning to Junpei. He chuckled. "Same. Great minds think alike."

'_If by 'drop by' you meant jumping through the door like the boogeyman…_', Douglas mused. "That reminds me. Colonel got word of the Rouken incident. You plan on going, don't you, Slash?"

"Kinda feel like it's my responsibility here.", Slash replied. "Colonel wants you to go with backup. He's sending Frost Walrus and some of your men to rendezvous at the sight in about 20 minutes. You sure you're up to it?"

"Whatever the hell's going on, it's my duty as a Repliforce soldier to see this through. He may be human, but this guy's the real deal." He turned his head to Yukari. "And if you're right about earlier, we're going to need every advantage we can get… despite our better judgment."

"Huh?", asked Junpei. "You mean…?" "I think those guys from earlier had to do with the island prison. If my hunch is right, _we_ might be needed."

"Well then, count me in. After the one-over on Minato they pulled, I'm dying for payback."

"Word of advice, kid.", Slash quipped. "Don't make it personal." "Yeah, look who's talking.", Armored Armadillo sighed.

"I'll have to forward this to Signas; he can't stand not being in on everything going on in HQ and all. Especially with our 'roster'.", Douglas announced. With that and a wave of his hand, the green-armored engineer rushed off to the head honcho.

As the door closed Ostrich asked aloud "You think we should, like, follow him?"

Silently thinking it to be a good cause, Beasat and Armadillo followed the land fowl Hunter's trail, Yukari grabbing Junpei's shoulder before he could follow suit. The cap-wearing lad locked gazes with Yukari, knowing what needed to be done.

* * *

><p>Mitsuru should be the first to know. And so the two S.E.E.S. humans splintered to the opposite direction of the hallway outside the room and ventured to the lounge where the redheaded aristocrat was last seen, Akihiko and Fuuka having accompanied her.<p>

It took but a minute for this to sink in. "I see. Are you certain there's a connection?", asked Mitsuru.

Akihiko, having not said a word during the briefing, perked "They said there was no evidence. Then again, the goal in mind could have been that prisoner, since his cell was opened normally and there's no body. I think there's more to this than we're seeing."

"Funny you say that, senpai.", replied Junpei, playing with the bill of his cap. "From what we heard on the guy from the lion dude, he was a real lab rat. Poor guy was said to go through weird experiments and slaughtered a whole group of his comrades – he was the sole survivor."

That's when the interest in the case grew. Alone, the concept of a human laying a Reploid troupe by hand was highly unlikely. Even with an edge, there lacked the motive, let alone the details in between. So from a glance, it seemed the missing jailbird was experimented on, something went wrong and the cavalry was caught in the crossfire. Given the idea, was the prisoner given enhancements, like steroids that allowed superhuman strength?

This was becoming more sci-fi by the minute, and it wasn't making any more sense that way. If that case, how did someone sneak onto a island facility, unnoticed, and made a clean sweep of the place without warning and no chance to call for backup? Was there some special interest in Prisoner 13? Did it have to do with the squabble the Hunters just reared from? What methods could have carried out such organized chaos without a blip on the radar that came and went like a natural disaster and left no big lead in its wake.

Whoever carried it out – be it single-handedly or as a group – were professionals. There was no way around that. Question is – what would be the point of all this? Was it so important that there were to be no survivors?

Then it hit Mitsuru. No survivors. Could it be because the urgency was so great they couldn't afford interference? Even going so far as to slay inmates _in_ their secured cells. Something may have happened that didn't want any attention to it. That was the most suspicious thing to the Empress Arcana user.

"Excuse me.", Mitsuru called out to no one in particular, yet got the attention of everyone in the room – particularly one Navigator, Palette, who happened to be in the room. "The incident at Rouken. Is it possible to be able to cover the whole prison by foot in such a short amount of time?"

"That's the problem. According to the schematics, the prison spans two above-ground floors and an underground floor housing the dimensions of large shopping mall. Unless you had a platoon of at least 100 men, this kind of dirty work isn't possible.", the blond Reploid replied. "Why do you ask?"

Mitsuru placed a hand to her chin. _'So there had to be a large group that got onto the island undetected… or an equivalent. I hope to God the latter has nothing to do with Personas…_'

"Were there any simulations?" Palette walked up the group. "You look like you're on to something." "I couldn't say."

"…", the Navigator paused. "According to our most advanced simulations and the most recent plans to the island, it would take a group of 100 trained men at least 30 minutes to storm the place and make it a bloodbath on all floors. That is of course if you rule out no one finding a way to call for help and all avenues for assistants shut down. But even then, all guards are trained enough to handle enemy intrusion by hand at minimum – humans included. This is something of an ultimatum than a real-life attack- it's too perfect."

Akihiko tapped Mitsuru's shoulder. "Remember how Chidori had the power to heal wounds outside of the Dark Hour?"

"I was just thinking about that. Is it possible those responsible can manipulate powers of their own in such a fashion?" "At such a high-scale? Hell, even I can't tackle a horde of high-class Shadows unless I see them. How the hell can you blind an entire high-tech prison without any resistance?"

"Perhaps there was more than one person involved? Or perhaps someone that knew enough of the prison to make it work?", inquired Fuuka.

"Are you implying an inside job?!", Pallete gawked. "Wincing a bit, Fuuka meekly replied "It's not entirely impossible, given this."

Sighing, Palette nodded. "No, you're right. It seems to have been carried out by someone who really knows efficient battle strategy. This is enough to be godlike intervention because there's no way any humans or Reploids of any skill set could pull _this_ off."

Junpei blinked. "Y'know, something 'bout that just reminded me. How did those guys from before get the one-up here in the first place. I can tell slacking off isn't on the list."

Palette's eyes opened slightly, followed by her associate Layer walking up behind her. "In truth, we were spending some time observing camera feed to find out how. The only real hint was that they came in somewhere on the Eastern End sector and ganged up on a three-man patrol cell led by Shade Panther, a recruit who started duty about a month ago. We were able to get him back online, but…"

"But…?", asked Yukari, unsure of the answer. Layer locked eyes, the lids a tad lax. "It's probably better to see for yourself. The repair wing he's at is a short walk from here."

* * *

><p>It was about a 90 second walk in real time to get to an automated door marked 'Internal Repair Suite 2'. Entering, the group walked into what seemed like an advanced workshop meets a hospital waiting room and string of bedrooms. There were a few repairmen Reploids walking about, tending to a small handful of occupant Hunters in the line of duty. Walking to the fourth bed on the left-hand wall was a sleek ebony-armored Reploid, presumably Shade Panther.<p>

Contrary to most Reploids, his armor complexion was far sleeker and metallic than his brethren; aside from his shoulder-length to his forearms and upper legs, sleek charcoal thin armor smoothly panned his frame – the rest was a reflecting silver chrome-like metal that shone like liquid mercury. Stylized armor plating and grooves gave the look of slabs of armor that veiled a human's body, with a handful of golden-bronze decal for his triangular inner ears and a hexagonal cap on the crown of his head.

He almost looked more like a Transformer than a Reploid, whatnot with the segmenting areas of his body like his joints, cheekbones and muzzle. The only deterrents to the idea were his large human-like ruby eyes with white sclera and the fairly long crimson scarf wrapped around his thick-armored neck chassis and draped to his shoulder blades, which sported armor that looked like folded front legs shaped like a backpack. (NOTE: His figure is HIGHLY inspired by Ravage's toy mold from Transformers' Beast Wars.)

Considering the spacey look in his eyes and the ridiculous length of the scarf after seemingly been wrapped twice, Yukari giggled bitterly on how the feline Reploid reminded her a bit about Ryoji.

Failing to hear the group's approach startled Panther a bit, his reaction being a bit on the jumpy side. Nonetheless he amassed makeshift composure. "M-Miss Palette! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Hey there, hot shot. Feeling better?", teased the blond. "Hot shot?", asked Yukari. "I'm his assigned Navigator in the rosters, so of course I'd know him."

Panther's surprised kitten-like face sulked a bit, reliving the question. "Well, the internal damage wasn't as bad as everyone thought. My team's in the clear too. I'll be on my feet in a day. I just…"

Palette blinked. "Yeah…?" Panther's red eyes gave off a sad, if not frightened look. "I just didn't see it coming. Not to mention I was taken down by a human with such ferocity."

"You're referring to the guy that attacked you.", Mitsuru concluded. "What exactly did he do?"

Panther sighed. "He got me from behind so I couldn't tell. I did realize my chest servos were severely fried and my hydraulics were dried out when I came back around after Douglas got me out of that jam."

"Your servos were 'fried'? Like blown out?", asked Akihiko. "End result, yeah. But it was like my chest was literally on fire, it that made sense. I guess my fluids drying out can account for something then."

"But those fluids can be explosion-prone. If they ignited you wouldn't be in one piece.", Layer noted, attempting to not worsen the mood.

"True. That's what was weird; it felt like the explosion was 'removed' so that I survived. Killing me wasn't part of their goal."

"What do you mean?", asked Fuuka. Shade Panther slowly reached for his upper arms. He was starting to shake. I could tell because I saw them."

"Them?", asked Mitsuru. Shade Panther's grip tightened, something the redhead and the boxing champ noticed. "Those eyes. Those dead, peering gold eyes. It was like it was searing into my soul. No emotions, no way to stop them. It was like I was being some higher power staring you down, searing you with its burning gaze."

He was visibly shaking. Layer and Palette exchanged looks. _This_ was definitely new. Sure there was Reploid psychology and that they were extremely similar to the human brain and nervous system, but a human causing some sort of impact like _this_… it was different to say the least. Humans could not directly interface with a Reploid or similar entity without a mechanical apparatus – something that turned up negative in the report – so what exactly did this mean?

"Mitsuru, you thinking what I'm thinking?", Akihiko asked aloud. "That depends. Iori."

Junpei jumped. "Y-Yeah ?" "While Chidori Yoshino was alive… she was able to use her powers 'on the outside', right?"

Junpei wasted not a single moment, knowing the meaning behind the question. "Yeah. You not suggesting that…"

The Kirijo princess sighed, pinching her nose. "I feared as much. I thought Strega was an odd case but it would seem that…"

The Reploids present were officially lost here.

"Are you saying that the Dark Hour can cause Persona abilities to manifest _outside_ of the Dark Hour…?" Fuuka asked.

"Well, there's this, those two vying for Arisato, not to mention the metamorphosis phenomenon… I'd say those events have a good chance of being connected. Or at the very least, bi-products for a much larger scale."

The room was quiet. Finally, Slash spoke up. "What about your friend. Does he know?"

"He's resting, with Amada, Koromaru and Aegis by his side. Hard to tell with him sleeping off his exhaustion.", Mitsuru replied, keeping the source of the tiredness irrelevant; delving into that was a bigger hassle than its worth at the present time.

"So there's this all going on, and Rouken. I'm willing to bet there's a whole group of humans with powers like yours involved; maybe Rouken's on their laundry list."

"What made that conclusion?" asked Layer. "That IV guy was pretty vocal on his prejudice. I'd be that too if what he says is true."

"Still, surviving the Sky Lagoon crash is highly impossible. It's like microwaving popcorn and expecting it _not_ to burn!", Palette argued. "I don't think he'd lie about something so horrible either…"

"_Hello? Palette? Do you copy? This is Signas._" "Commander Signas, sir! Yes, I copy! I'm at the Repair Bay visiting Shade Panther, sir. Some of the group of humans are here too, along with Slash Beast. Should I send them over?"

"_By all means. I have some questions regarding these events I'd like some input on. Rouken needs to be investigated and a blind voyage isn't my style. X and the others will meet you there._"

Palette nodded. "Follow me. I'll see you around, Shade." The panther Reploid smiled. "I'll be hanging around I guess." "Ha ha, you're funny."

* * *

><p>Mysterious Location, some time around 7 AM<p>

* * *

><p>The lilac-headed male seemed to be downing bottled water while sitting on a workout bench in a dimly-lit workout room of sorts. A towel draped on his shoulder and there were 4 100 lb. disks on the bar's ends in total laying in the rest made by the chair's tall legs.<p>

Wiping the sweat of his razor-thin brow with the back of his hand, the male picked up a hack-proofed cell phone that buzzed to life. He smirked at the message.

'_The wolf is out of the cage. He passed the test and has been given his Evoker. He is the STRENGTH Arcana, as you predicted._'

The young male gave off a weak smile and started punching in his reply.

'_I'll meet you personally, Elly. Hope he like continental breakfast; revenge is a dish best served cold.'_

* * *

><p>AND THERE WE GO. Bit of a lengthy talk show of a chapter, forging a bit of a backstory for some characters to deepen the plot a bit. There's more going on behind the scenes than we think. What is it you ask?<p>

Who knows? Only one way to find out.

Also, Shade Panther, Lost and Elly (the girl from the beginning) are copyright by me, but had been modeled/inspired by existing characters (Ravage from Beast Wars, Free from Soul Eater and Elly from Touhou respectively). All original concept belongs to their corresponding owners. (Spin-offs aren't _that_ original; it's not exactly criminal either.)

Since actual artwork of these characters exists, feel free to check 'em on my deviantART page. (YamiNetto)


	8. Hourglass Figures

It's been a while, what with college and stuff to be taken care of. Chapter 8 is here at last.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Hourglass Figures<p>

* * *

><p>Hunter Base, Main Hall, 7:30 AM<p>

* * *

><p>It was a long and awkward 30 minutes. As the group of Hunters and such made it to the command center by Signas' request, and further intros were held between X, Zero and Axl with S.E.E.S., the majority of the active Hunters – along with affiliated guests like Iris, Skiver, Gate and so forth – filed into the gargantuan room, and after a quick intro session, Minato was wheeled in by Lifesaver on a wheelchair, his forehead and left leg in bandages and casting, and a gauze pad on his exposed cheek. Ken, Koromaru and Aegis were in tow, with the former-most sporting a bandage under his left eye.<p>

"I appreciate the help, but I think we got it.", Minato said to Lifesaver. "Understood.", the imposing medic replied and stood at his position. Aegis wheeled the Fool to were the rest of the crew were, a slight conversation happen while moving. "How's your leg, dude?", Junpei asked sheepishly.

"Not as bad as we thought. Need to take some pain killers for a day or two from the bruising. Nothing's broken, thankfully.", Minato smiled.

"Good ol' Minato; always a trooper!", Junpei grinned, rummaging a hand in the blunette's hair, much to his annoyance.

Signas eyed the sight with a light smile and proceeded to take the center stage. "Ladies and gentlemen of our esteemed groups, certain events that have transpired in the last 24 hours have been dealt with large scale investigation. It should be known that as of roughly 6 AM, this marks the third incident under our alliance's eye that we are still rearing from. The last of which… well, I'm certain as you may or may not have been informed is gruesome beyond measure nonetheless."

The room was silent after roughly the whole active Hunter staff learned of the Rouken incident – even brasher Replods like Wheel Gator held his tongue in silence.

"How exactly did something so horrible happen?", inquired a Hunter grunt in navy blue armor.

"Rouken's an island prison surrounded by water 50 miles from the shore; how could this happen undetected?", asked a female navigator with long green hair in yellow armor.

"Didn't the perp happen to be able to knock out the whole security system before the event happened? How can one person do that undetected?" asked a husky Reploid aloud wearing green armor resembling an army grunt in uniform, complete with green helmet. There was quite some murmuring.

"All decent questions, of which the answers will come in due time. Before I go on, you may be wondering why these human children are here in the briefing, but I assure they are key to this mystery. X, if you please.", Signas gestured.

The legendary Blue Bomber nodded, stepping forward, his comrades in arms lend their ears. "Approximately 3 hours ago, there was a private transmission held here that extended to Repliforce's General and Colonel, along with a human businessman that has certain… insight on the attack earlier on here at HQ. He also explained certain details pertaining to S.E.E.S. and their being here. Suffice it to say it makes just as much sense as everything else going on, but it's better than nothing."

"And what exactly did you learn?", inquired Boomer Kuwanger. "Judging by your pauses, I'd say it's got certain gravity to it."

X nodded. "These teens are not who they appear to be; they have special abilities that have, by their testament and certain demonstration, is similar to those three attackers. But I think you may want to here it from them."

He looked at Mitsuru, who gracefully stood next to X, a cool exterior broadcasting from her slim figure and scarlet features. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I may not look it, but I am the esteemed 3rd head of the Kirijo Group, in addition to acting leader of our group S.E.E.S, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. We are a group that directly deals with creatures called Shadows that had threatened to end humanity… circa 2009."

The room was eerily quiet. "Did you say… 2009?", Iris piped up. Mitsuru waited a moment.

"We cannot fully explain how reverse-time travel works in our case; I couldn't being to fathom it myself. But that's not the issue. We know for a fact that those three who attack your establishment earlier today use the same powers we can, at least in part."

"And this power is…?", mused Boomer. Mitsuru proceeded to pull out her Evoker, which immediately changed the mood of the room. "If I'm right, you'll see it first hand. _Artemisia_!"

Shouting her Persona's name and firing at her right temple, blue light and flames as the elegant Persona came into sight, cracking her whip. All Reploids who who weren't present last time were in shock and awe. Gate's handheld device sprung to life, his eyes widening. '_These readings…! I really must learn more about this 'Persona' business._'

Dismissing the phantasm, the Kirijo princess whipped her hair a bit.

"D-Did it just get chilly in here?", Skiver noticed. Mitsuru blinked and let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry. I suppose I should be more restraining when I summon Artemisia. Wouldn't want to freeze the room."

"Showoff.", muttered Akihiko as Junpei sneered and Fuuka giggled in her hand.

"What… was _that_?", Chill Penguin finally manages to blab out. Flame Stag's jaw dropped. Wheel Gator's eyes widened.

"That, gentlemen, was a Persona in the flesh.", Mitsuru answered. "Personas are the only weapon capable of killing Shadows, devious monsters that mirrors your common-day 'Mavericks' pretty well."

"So these 'Shadows'… they try to kill humans?", Red asked, craning his neck. Aegis stepped forward. "Shadows are discarded human essences that linger on without ego or sense of self that mutate into Shadows over time. Shadows that gain reasoning and can master its ego evolve into Persona – the mastery of the self as a spiritual weapon."

"And you, I assume, also have a Persona?", Signas inquired. Aegis nodded. "Although humans normally are believed to be most capable to master Persona after certain conditions are met, Koromaru and myself have been able to use our Personas with little difficulty.

The Hunters all gazed at the gray Shiba puppy, who barked twice, his tail wagging.

"So what can you tell us about Persona? How does one get around to attaining one?", Zero asked, feeling like there was something to this story.

"There's… no real answer to that question. The few researchers on the subject died trying to figure it out. The biggest clue, however, seems to be a trigger caused by powerful emotional trauma. Ironically, that also risks giving birth to equally strong Shadows.", Mitsuru exhaled, looking at Akihiko. "I found documents pertaining to the experiments on Strega in Ikutsuki's files. It was the only conclusion I could come up with."

"So that's it…", Akihiko grimaced. Minato had a deep-in-thought look. "You don't think…"

By then, everyone in the room gave Minato a stare. "You think that these guys getting Persona were from traumas caused by the Maverick Wars? And that what went on for the last day up till now are related?"

Glances were exchanged. It seemed bogus but Minato made a very convincing point. Many people lost their lives in the Maverick Uprisings and paved the road for anything under the sun to happen. It seemed slim but what if humans once again gained the ability to muster Persona again…?

"And how did they gather?", Junpei found himself asking aloud. "The odds of Persona-users finding each other on their own is pretty low. Something tells me someone's been scouting for these guys."

"_Scouting_? How'd they manage that?", Axl asked. "How were _you_ brought together?", inquired Snipe Anteator.

"…Well, that was done by a special system made by Ikutsuki. Strangely, he'd never let us see it. Figures that come back to haunt us.", Akihiko cursed.

"So we got zip on how one can find a guy with a Persona, huh? Well, that's back to square one…", Axl sighed. "Would be nice if there was a way to track them down; it's no fun playing hide-and-seek without knowing what to look for."

The childish joke aside, all present Hunters and Navigators understood Axl's comment. It was a real pain tracking down hostiles without any clues leading to them.

Magna Centipede craned his neck, his four arms crossed. "Do people that gain a Persona exhibit strange behavior? Like, say, strange habits or the like?"

The S.E.E.S. members exchanged looks for a minute. "Well…", Yukari spoke up. "I guess one would see the world differently a bit. Like, a broader perspective of things…"

"Yeah. Kinda like seeing the bigger picture in things easier than others.", Junpei scratched his head.

"I suppose I could field this a bit.", Gate said aloud, earning attention. "According to Mr. Arisato's results from the infirmary, I was able to deduce that he was capable of using roughly 45% of his brain and memory without difficulty – that's three times greater than the average human. One could argue that's a passage to superhuman capability. I'm certain the rest of these children are on the same boat."

The Reploids in the room all stared in bewilderment. "Um, to be frank, Minato's probably world's ahead of most of us. I mean—_oof!_", Junpei sheepishly started to blab before Yukari elbowed him. "What happened to 'too much, too fast', _Stupei_?"

Signas closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "At any rate, it's important for us to remain vigilant. I believe the best course of action is to investigate Rouken in person. I'll assign a team to check it out in an hour."

"Um, Signas?", came a voice. All heads turned to Slash Beast. "I… I request you'd allow me to join that group as well. It's… personal."

A moment of silence passed, but Signas nodded. "I see. I'll notify Colonel as well. Well then gentlemen. You are dismissed for now."

As the rank and file began to disperse to their duties, X turned to face Minato. "You sure you're feeling okay?"

Minato grinned. "Trust me; I've been worse. This is just a setback."

Junpei chuckled. "You can say that again."

"I'd love to get more information about this Persona business, but as it were you seem to have no lodging here. Should we arrange for it?"

Ken blinked. "Wait. Didn't Elizabeth-san say something about having set up housing for us somewhere in the city…?"

Akihiko cupped his chin. "Now that you mention it…" Mitsuru proceeded to reach for something in her blouse pocket. "Ah, yes; I almost forgot."

Pulling out a small manila envelope labeled 'For S.E.E.S.', she smiled. "I was wondering what this was for."

Inside the envelope was a set of ten identical keycards and a slip of paper with an address. "Your friend works in mysterious ways, Arisato. I found this in my pocket not too long ago."

"Well, fancy that.", Minato chuckled. '_I got to ask her how she did that…_'

Over Mitsuru's shoulder, Axl saw the address on the slip and gaped. "Isn't that the Galoria Suite Complex's address? That's for some loaded folks!"

"I hear they got quite a waiting list for residency. Whoever scored you _that_ golden ticket must have the magic touch.", Zero nodded.

"You don't say.", Minato chuckled again. '_Someone's showing off today_.'

"Hm. There's more. 'P.S.: To Minato with love.' Someone's got an admirer.", Douglas mused. Yukari began fuming, Fuuka, Aegis and Mitsuru blushed and Minato gave off a poker face – however he was internally screaming curses. '_YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE! WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON?!_'

"I'd ask, but I think you guys may want to get settled. I'll arrange for a ride in a bit.", Signas said.

"I appreciate that.", Mitsuru noted. Junpei smirked. "Well, things just got interesting." "…Shut up, Junpei.", Minato sighed.

* * *

><p>1 Hour Later…<p>

* * *

><p>Having arrived at the Galoria complex and completed checking in, the motley crew of teenagers, X and Axl headed to the 12th floor of Building C; Zero was asked to join in on investigating Rouken. Besides, he didn't feel like playing babysitter.<p>

On the way there, X took it upon himself to fill the group in on the events of the last several years – all the way back to Sigma's Uprisings. He spoke of the Maverick Viruses and how most of the revived Reploids who were affected wanted to atone for their actions - whether they were initially Maverick or victims – and a short list of the efforts to patch up the past wounds, even with the scars still there.

X noticed that the group absorbed the details with a solemn expression set. Even Ken, the youngest by far, was stone-faced by the details of the warfare, even though it was evident he was disturbed by the news to say the least. He was a real trooper, simply grabbing his forearm in silence. Junpei tipped the bill of his hat, Yukari pinched her noseline and Fuuka visually grimaced. Aegis, Akihiko and Mitsuru looked at their feet, and Koromaru let out a soft whine.

What was intriguing to Dr. Light's legacy was Minato's expression – it showed the same somber look as the others, but there was something in his eyes; it was a depth of understanding that was as vast as the ocean, as broad as the sky, so that he can reach both sides of the horizon of all that has happened with both hands.

'_It's his eyes_…', X noted. '_There's something about them that makes me feel… so Zen about the past. Like he's every waking moment of the last 10-something years and casts no judgment, no bias._'

If X could describe it, Minato's expression was like the fully gradient of every shade of blue that could exist – from metallic shades of cobalt to the most shimmering sapphire and aquamarine, it was enough to make X feel like he was drowning in the very spirituality of the moment.

By the time he finished processing that, the group's ride arrived at the suite.

* * *

><p>Rouken Island Prison, Helipad Area, 8:45 AM<p>

* * *

><p>Landing safely on the helipad and the engines dying down on the transport, Slash Beast, accompanied by Blast Hornet, Douglas, and about 20 or so B and C-Rank Hunters got out and began reconnaissance on the defaced island hell that has been dubbed the 'Alcatraz of Asia'.<p>

Not 2 minutes on the godforsaken rock and already some of the grunts reported seeing slain bodies veiled in flaking blood already. If these guys had stomachs, they would've hurled on sight. As a member of the 0th Shinobi Unit, Hornet had seen his fair share of the grizzly and gruesome, but not like this.

Limbs of human and Reploid alike hacked, hinging and mangled with bloodstains strewn all over like a deranged Jackson Pollock piece. Large, curved carvings etched into titanium doors and reinforced walls like a demolition derby was let loose in these halls. Computer systems and security cameras smashed to kingdom come.

And as Slash Beast feared, Cell 16 of the basement level was the only door that was opened normally, and from the outside.

Forensics immediately got to work to find a potential lead, but after 20 minutes, the trail went cold.

The head of the investigation was Froid, a fairly bulky polar bear Reploid with gray armoring and blue lights on the breasts and forehead. Despite his likeness to Grizzly Slash, he was a young, outspoken genius when it came to forensic sciences. His real name was Frigid Polaroid, but used an anagramming for a nickname, which was ironically French for 'cold'. Freaking smartass.

The young goliath of a scientist read over the results of the scans of the hall, particularly the opened door of Lost's cell. What baffled him was that while there were prints belonging to Lost on the door, there was no proof leading to whoever was the one who opened it from the outside.

Human or Reploid, both species give off a discrete way of leaving DNA behind. This led the ursine Hunter to believe a method was used to remove the instance of traces altogether.

On the other end, Blast Hornet and a young female humanoid Hunter named Lex – who looked similar to Palette without the ornaments and Layer-like cyan hair, but had slim lime-green armoring. Her cherry red eyes skimmed whatever was left of the databanks on the island, which stopped recording information about 5:45 AM; fifteen minutes before the strike.

"Find anything on your end?", Hornet asked as he typed away, looking at the security feeds. As noted, the feeds ceased at the same time the databanks shut down. Whoever was capable of doing this was an extremely gifted hacker who had to have known every nook and cranny of the system so that no brows rose when the time was right for the picking.

"No signs of a backdoor made or used, either in the system or on foot in the prison. However this was done seemed to be able to defy so many levels of logic it was like it was the Devil's handiwork.", Lex grit her teeth.

Hornet's eyes narrowed. Then, something caught his eye. "Hey, Lex. Check if there was any access to the secondary mainframe on the eastern wing at about 5:42 AM."

"Checking…", Lexi responded befre gasping a bit. "Hey! Someone _did_ access the mainframe. It says #45A3. Perhaps an ID code?" Continuing, Lex searched the mainframe for that code, finding one match.

"Sho Saimon, I got your number.", Lex smirked. "Let's see here. Seems he made three trips here last night. Each was one hour of each other like clockwork. The last one was before the attack."

"You think he may have been involved?" "Can't ask him, since they found his body. Both halves of him, anyway." Hornet cringed. "How'd they manage bifurcation on so many in such a short time? What was this, a Chainsaw Massacre?"

"I don't think horror flicks were the point of this, but you got a point. Whoever this this was _really_ good with a bladed weapon that could carve through something like titanium easily. Could be beam weapons."

"Nah. Even Zero's beam saber can't produce this much damage at the turn of a dime. But I noticed the handiwork. Judging by the arc of the strikes I'd say it was a curved weapon like a scythe."

"And you base this on…?" "C'mon. I'm in the same unit as Magna Centipede. The guy's a walking encyclopedia on the art of weapons. When you hag with that guy, you tend to learn a few things."

"…Point noted. Anything else?" "Well, it's just speculation, but I'm willing to bet if the perp was human – which would shock me, by the way – it had to have been a woman." "Now I'm interested." "See, it's the arc of the cuts. Male humans have slightly thicker wristbones than women, so the arc for a blade in their dominant hand would be broader. A woman could make such nosedive arcs easier. Why do you think there are better female tennis champs than men nowadays?"

"You're all over, man.", Lex sighed. "But according to this, Sho's a man, and he was stationed in the same block as the escapee. However, there's no recorded evidence of any contact. He does have clearance to the secondary mainframe, but not the main one."

"Well, it's a secondary system. There tends to be a backdoor that leads to the main one for the sake of keeping the system running smoothly." "You saying this guy crafted a backdoor on his own through a _one-way_ system link undetected? The guy only uses the log system for recording purposes, according to this. I don't think he could have the skills to hack with so much risk."

"Well, he never really was a prime suspect anyway. We're still looking for a lead. So far, he's the only one who accessed it before the attack. What does he log anyway?", Hornet asked.

"Checking now… oh my god." "…I didn't like the sound of that…" "He was checking the system routines for the camera networks and border defenses on the perimeter of the island…!" "Oh, shit, you serious?!", Hornet gawked.

"Hornet, you don't think he was aiming to _turn the system off_, do you?" "Why hack and risk discovery when you can throw a switch in secret?"

At that point Zero walked in. "Hey guys, not-so-good news. We couldn't find a lead on the person who carved up the place like a Thanksgiving feast. Samples of blood splatters were taken and we confirmed no odd agents were involved. It was literally a clean kill all around."

"Well, that sucks. At the very least, we think it may have been a human woman given the arc of the slashes with the weapon.", Lex noted. The polar bear Hunter blinked. "Girl, you're crazy. A _human women_ couldn't have done this. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that was a seriously heavy weapon used wit enough potential force to cleave into titanium."

Hornet glazed his eyes at Zero. "Clearly you didn't hear the briefings from last night. Three humans literally did the impossible by breaking into HQ territory undetected and mopped the floor with several B and A-ranked hunters on equal ground. I don't think we can just blindly say what is and what isn't possible. The norm's out the window."

"Ha ha.", Zero noted, scratching his cheek. "You find anything here?"

"Well, we _do_ have a possible lead making us think that it could have started as an inside job."

"You think that the person who did it was working this morning?" "Doubt it. The log shows that all up-and-at-'em guards were male – human _and_ Reploid. Not a dame among them."

"What about… Sho's body?" "Who?", asked the Crimson Devil. "The guard who we think caused the inside job."

"Let me check…" Zero patched himself Froid and his assistants checking the bodies on the basement floor and patched the request to find and check the lucky cadaver.

After 2 minutes, the blonde's communicator blared with a frantic "_Froid! You won't belive this! We found something_!" "Out with it man!"

"_We found a DNA signature in Sho's coat pocket – it doesn't belong to any of the guards or prisoners._"

Zero's eyes grew. "Was this match to a women?" "_Y-Yeah! How'd you know?_" "…Lucky guess. Who's our match?"

"We ran it through the system. A young named Elly Moon, 19 from Hong Kong… and deceased at the time of the Jakob's Elevator incident."

"You gotta be shitting me.", Zero cursed. "Didn't someone pull this stunt during the berserk Mechaniloid incident yesterday?"

Hornet nodded. "Struck me as really weird. The first time around anyway – the source was that Minato kid, who was found the midnight after at the beach cove. Some really weird shit is going on here…"

* * *

><p>Rouken, Basement Floor, outside of cell 16<p>

* * *

><p>Slash Beast stared at the dim, empty room that housed the escapee. The very same human who killed his fellow men and robbed his sight in his left eye when he was practically a cub in the Repliforce.<p>

It was one of the few times in his life he truly experienced fear. His eye still itched from the memories.

Considering his human-like condition at the moment, the lion-like Repliforce commander of the Land branch could feel a chill up his neck as he slowly peeked inside. The gray walls were free of any scarring or blemishing and the toilet, sink and bed seemed like they were clean as a whistle. It was far from what he ventured to guess what it could have been.

There was a light scent in the air. It was _his_. The scent of the man with that psychotic grin that howled like a true wolf of the night. He thought he could check the room himself, but Slash felt like the memory's power was too much at the moment. Suddenyl, as he turned around, something caught his eye.

A slip of paper was on the edge of the bed. It was written by hand in pencil with surprisingly decorated handwriting.

'NEVER FORGIVE, NEVER FORGET – 09/23/22XX'

'_A date…_?', Slash pondered. He thought it was that fateful day at first out of some vendetta possibility, but he distinctly remembered it happened on a freezing January nightfall. '_September 23…_'

* * *

><p>Galoria Suite Complex C, 12th Floor, Suite B<p>

* * *

><p>The polished oak double doors opened as Minato slid the keycard to the apartment, and everyone was amazed by the sight.<p>

Polished marble tile floors and tables, a full-fledged kitchen with all the trimmings, a very nice living room and dining room area, a large plasma screen TV and several comfy chairs and a sofa-bed, a couple of nice bedrooms, a couple of luxurious bathrooms and a hot tub on the balcony with a banging view of the lush courtyard.

"Wow. Whoever got you this _sweet_ pad much really be loaded.", Axl gaped as he, Junpei and Ken scoped the place out.

"Hey, over here's a pace for Koro-chan and Aegis.", Ken said aloud, pointing to a life-sized charing chamber of sorts and a elegant-looking dog corner with a comfy-looking bed and a blanket. Koromaru yipped happily. Aegis's eyes rose. "For me? Well…"

"I think whoever set this room up knew about you guys to a certain front. I bet it was Mr. Kirijo.", X noted.

"Whoever it was made some _awesome_ arrangements! I'm gonna give 'im a great big hug!", Junpei gleamed as he opened the door to the laundry room, but froze with a funny face seeing Elizabeth standing there.

"I'll take the hug now." "GAAAAAH! Don't do that!", Junpei shrieked, falling and landing on his bum. "You trying to give me a stroke or what?"

"How did she get in here…?", Axl gawked. "Um, forgive for asking, but who are you and why were you in the laundry room…?"

"Greetings. My name is Elizabeth; a good friend that likes to hang around. Don't leave me to dry, as I shrivel easily~"

A moment of awkward silence passed

"…That was _terrible_.", Minato skulked. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"I'm new at the human humor thing; nobody's perfect, not even one who rules over power."

"One who—I'm sorry, _what_?", Axl gawked again. "Can someone explain to me who this nice-looking girl is supposed to be?"

Elizabeth grinned slyly. "Flattery will get you nowhere, I'm afraid." Junpei shot up yelling "HAHA, nice!"and left his hand out for a high-five, but Elizabeth merely blinked. "Is this a 'high-five'?"

"…" Junpei's grin twitched once and made a weird noise.

Minato inhaled and exhaled. "Remember when I mentioned the Velvet Room before and that my powers are assisted by a person named Elizabeth?"

"…This would be her, I take it.", X said, politely pointing at the Velvet Room denizen in blue. "Tell 'em what he's won, Junpei.", Minato replied.

"So you're supposed to be a hotshot demigod or something?", Axl leaned in, observing the girl and locking eyes, bright green to pale yellow. "Not to be rude, but I'll believe it when I see it."

"I would check the drawers in the bedrooms, for starters." Akihiko walked into the men's bedroom and opened the middle drawer. Sure enough, it was some clothes that Akihiko and Junpei would normally wear. "It's the real deal. And thanks, you saved us a shopping trip."

Elizabeth smiled cutely. Axl blinked going. "Oh yeah? What number am I thinking of?" "This old game…?" Elizabeth blinked. "Just humor him.", X sighed, defeated.

"Six." Axl blinked. "How 'bout now?" "Four. Seventeen. One hundred twenty. Nice try, broccoli's not a number." Axl was deadpan. Ken stifled a chuckle, earning am off-corner glare from the young Reploid.

"So what brings you here, Elizabeth?", Aegis inquired. "I doubt it was to make Axl look like a clown.", Yukari stated, causing the orange-haired Hunter to pout.

"Oh, just wanted to make sure my favorite guest and his friends settled in nicely, whatnot with the rough night you had. I also had some information you may want to hear."

"…What kind of information?", Minato asked. "As you know, Shikikata and Kurobane Kirijo were appointed as guests of the Velvet Room in this time period and have helped me keep tabs on the spiritual atmosphere of the world. And before you ask about why I never helped in the Maverick Wars, we are forbidden to directly interfere with the matters of the human world if certain factors are not involved."

Axl remained silent. "Contining, it's come to my attention that the group that assailed the Hunter Base and the Rouken prison are connected. My proof lies in their method of choice."

"Method of choice?", Fuuka blinked. Elizabeth nodded. "It seems the events of last night were merely a taste of what is going on in this timeline. The Dark Hour's properties have begun to leak into the time-space of the real world, allowing the abilities of Shadows and Personas to be utilized in the same fashion. In other words-"

"In other words… Personas can be used outside the Dark Hour. Just great.", Akihiko cursed.

"So that massacre was executed by someone with a Persona? Someone who can manipulate electronic databases and apparatuses _and_ keep that bloodshed under the radar for so long?", X asked incredulously.

"There are many possibilities one can utilize their Persona for; it doesn't have to simply be for fighting.", Elizabeth noted sagely.

"She's right.", Fuuka commented. "Take my Persona, Juno. In addition to scanning and processing battle data, I have been able to interface with certain levels of networking from time to time."

"Just like with Kala-Nemi Because of my affinity to light magic, I can see far better in the dark than most people can.", Ken noted. "Or my processing capabilities, with Athena's influence.", Aegies chimed in.

"My guess is that there was a Persona-user on their side who not only could interface with computer systems, but perhaps people or Reploids. The brain functions on electromagnetic signals, so possession may a distinct possibility. I don't think I can vouch any thesis on memories, though.", Elizabeth noted. "On that note, it's possible that there may have been at least three intruders at the time. One to set the stage and seal off all avenues of interference, one who went to town, and one who made it possible to conceal their arrival – that seems the most key in my book."

"That's what's been bugging me." X sighed. I can understand all of this to a point save for getting to Rouken. I mean, it's an _island prison_ surrounded by water. You can't _not_ see someone coming, by radar or by visual. Can Personas cloak one's presence or make an entire vehicle undetectable?"

Elizabeth pondered on it. "There have been cases where Persona grant camoflauge, but on a moving speedboat? I know _I_ never heard of such a thing. Such magic requires constant concentration and diligence to pull off, much less at high speeds. You'd have to be a hermit who got Buddha's enlightenment. That or _really_ in-tune with oneself."

"And as for the break-in and break-out, one thing bugs me about the concept; the only conceivable way to make it a surefire success is for that person to be on site the whole time." X summarized. "Problem was, there were ninety armed guards deployed at the time, and all 90 bodies were accounted for. And considering how Persona-users seemed to be highly valued I doubt there was a mole who got offed to keep the charade up. That is unless Persona gives you the power to fake death."

"I know for a fact _that_ can't be done.", Elizabeth gave with certainty.

Suddenly X and Ax;'s comm-links went off. It was Alia, who just got word from Zero's team. After a couple moments of hearing the tale on speaker, X gasped. "You mean there was a match to an attacker?!" This took even Elizabeth by surprise.

"Yes, but the problem was the records show that the suspect, Elly Moon, had been dead from a house fire at the time of the Jakob Elevator incident with Lumine." Axl grimaced from that name.

"So we got a girl's who's supposed to be dead for several years at least hacking guards on a prison island and breaking out a prisoner. Peachy." Junpei sighed, tipping the bill of his hat.

"_That's not all. The prisoner, dubbed 'The Wolfman', was a boy who was experimented on as a child as a super-soldier to eliminate Mavericks, but killed the doctors who experimented on him and slayed the unit Slash Beast from Repliforce belonged to before being captured and secured at Rouken. By his own admission, he says he was the only survivor that day and that's when he lost his eye_."

The room fell quiet. "One moment, Alia; we're with someone who's an expert on the whole Persona business." X turned to Elizabeth. "Can anyone be a candidate to attain Persona? Or are there certain conditions to the whole thing?"

Elizabeth placed a blue gloved hand on her chin in thought. "The most common root of attaining Persona lies in that person-in-question attaining a very surreal state of epiphany in their life. It usually is brought about by great change and resolution that shakes the soul to the core. By the same token, such change that's handled poorly births Shadows. I'd say that is the most common trait."

"_Well, the guy __**was**__ experimented on for several years. I wouldn't blame him if such trauma led to such a change, but an __**epiphany**__? That seems like that's going the extra mile._", Alia said over the comm-link. "_Well, I merely contacted you for the heads up. I'll comm again when there's an update. Alia out._"

Ceasing transmission, X nodded to himself. "I think we should pay Mr. Shikikata Kirijo a visit. He said it himself he knows of these guys – the Scourges. I think he said something about a confrontation, too."

"Sounds good to me!", Axl grinned, punching his open hand. "I'm itching for some progress. Waiting around unable to do anything really bugs me."

Junpei chuckled. "You and me both, dude. The sooner we make some progress the sooner I can feel like I can sleep at night." Yukari rolled her eyes. "This coming from the guy who sleeps like a rock most of the time, even during class."

"First of all, that's Minato's shtick!" "Don't me into this, please…", Minato sighed. The group chuckled at that.

Elizaberth nodded. "I will speak to my Master about this whole predicament. It seems even he has been having trouble observing these 'Scourges' as of late. They must have someone who's able to perceive my master from an alternate realm and shield their location."

"This is getting weird. Other realms?", Axl whined to himself. "You'll get used to it. Well, I better get going. Time is of the essence here. Go see Shikikata; I'm sure he;s got something. Him or his brother."

Elizabeth proceeded to open the double doors, but a blue light shone in the open space instead of the hallway. Gaping, X and Axl merely stared as the girl gave a wink to the group with a sweet "Ciao~", closing the door behind her. Axl ran to the door and re-opened it, but only the hallway was shown.

"I gotta know how she did that…", Axl whispered. "I tried asking.", Minato responded. "It didn't work."

"I guess we're off to see my… er, successor.", Mitsuru noted with authority. "But I propose we freshen up and grab a bite to eat first. We only got here several hours ago."

"I could use a nice shower actually. My neck is _stiiiiiff_.", Junpei moaned. Minato immediately shot his hand up. "Calling the first shift." "DAMN IT!", Junpei yelled out, earning some roaring laughter.

* * *

><p>Unknown Location, unknown time<p>

* * *

><p>Lost sat on the plush sofa sitting up, contemplating his being here. Sure he was beyond grateful for finally being out of the slammer under watchful eyes and sitting on something comfortable for the first time in ages, sipping on some soothing green tea that calmed his erratic nerves, but something was nagging at him a bit.<p>

He already met some of Elly's comrades, who all had their share of interesting stories to tell and met with the fearless leader and was informed of the Scourge's cause. He was all in for some major payback in the world, sure, but he still asked himself 'why him?' or 'what made me so special?' What actually worried him was how these guys even knew he existed. Truth be told he was a bit wary on the subject, the triangular patch of peach fuzz stretching along his chin corners' hairs standing on end.

"Maybe I'm overthinking this a bit."

'_Or maybe it's because you finally got a chance to really stick it to those fucking Reploids and you're being a timid pup. Some wolf you are.'_

Lost's eyes shrunk and his vision darted around the room. "Who's there?!"

'_Shit, man, don't you recognize my voice? It's me, boss. Your inner powers manifested. The very being that understands you more than anyone else. You realize that these other scraps of meat share the same bond we do, right? I'm your __**Persona**__, you pup._'

Lost took a moment to let this sink in. "Persona… that thing Elly and the boos spoke of… Heh, so I 'awakened' already, huh? This is gonna be sweet."

'_Yeah, a real __**tear**__. I can't wait for us to let loose on those scrap-of-meat scum. My fangs quiver with the thrill of the hunt! Aroooooo!_'

Lost let out a toothy grin at that howl. Oh, how it resounded with him. "So. You got a name or what?"

'_I'm __**you**__, pup. You tell me._' "Heh. This is gonna be really interesting. Don't you think… _Fenrir_?"

* * *

><p>Aaaaaaand Chapter 8 is DONE! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing this. Read and review if you could spare a moment. Bye for now~<p> 


	9. Fantasy Footsteps

Been a while. Starting this chapter, I'm going to try and get the plot really moving, as well as clear a few things. Also the made-up substance in this chapter, Jedahdite, had its name derived from Jedah Dohma from _Darkstalkers_, who is a boss character featured in _Project X Zone_, which I finally finished. Get the game if you like Megaman X, since his and Zero's moves come from X4. IT'S SO GOOD.

Also, to make my story seem canon, for this story, Hunter HQ's main terminal will be in Japan, with orbiting stations worldwide. Same for Repliforce, which would make sense being stationed in America or England, or at least close to it.

* * *

><p>"<em>It doesn't matter who owes who. From the instant they enter a war, both sides are evil<em>." – Shunsui Kyoraku, BLEACH

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Fantasy Footsteps<p>

* * *

><p>Abel City, Upper West Side, Shopping District, 11:08 AM<p>

* * *

><p>After a quick round of showers and sprucing up, S.E.E.S. took to the streets with X and Axl as guides.<p>

There was little food in the apartment as of yet, so the group grabbed a quick breakfast as they explored the area. The Upper West was fairly close to Hunter Base – about 20 minutes by transport – and was fairly quaint.

Instead of the culture shock-like futuristic background one might expect, it was a very homey atmosphere. The streets were lined with trees and shrubbery, the buildings and community mimicking what reminded the group of Iwatodai's charm. Having stopped at a coffee shop near the apartments, the group got something to feed their appetite, courtesy of X, who happened to have some currency used in this time.

"Man, that hit the spot.", Junpei purred, sipping on some of his hazelnut latte. Munching on a chocolate muffin, Ken nodded and said "Nothing like breakfast after an all-nighter." before sipping on his coffee. For a kid he sure liked black coffee, which surprised Axl; he probably thought all kids like sweets, but he guessed not Ken.

"I guess there's something to the whole coffee thing, huh?", Axl mused, arms folded over his head. "What say you, X?"

X didn't reply. He seemed out in his own world. "Yo. X. Buddy?", Axl asked, waving a hand in his face and gaining his attention. "Yo, you okay in there?"

"O-oh. Sorry. Just thinking." "About?" "Well… everything is going so fast with the last day or so. Thinking about how there are humans who truly are hell-bent on Reploid genocide stirs some scars. I mean, we Hunters fought tooth and nail to cure the Maverick Virus and free the world of all the hate and suffering between humans and Reploids, and now _this_? It's a real kick in the teeth."

The group held a moment of silence to let that sink in. There was a profound pang of emotion to be felt.

Minato looked over to X. "Do you feel haunted by the past?" X was a bit aback from the sudden question, but knew what to say regardless. "I guess I'd be lying if I didn't feel a sense of responsibility. I mean, Reploid technology all stemmed from my design. I guess you can say I'm the all-father of Reploidkind. And I do feel pain in watching my people – my children – being led down the path of madness as they had. I wonder if that's how a human parent would feel…"

Minato processed the depth of the comment, fully understanding that X, designed to be akin to humans and how they feel and live, had the same sort of attachment to his people like a loving mother to her child. Wanting to nurture and care for them, seeing them become tools of chaos must've been heartbreaking.

Axl blinked quietly, a bit surprised fro this this side of him. But this was what made X X. His heart – his ability to feel as humans can – was the be-all and end-all lifeforce that staved off human extinction and finally ended the viral terrors. Many lives were lost, but they may have been proud of X's undying determination and unshakable resolve; when he said he would end the struggles, he was true to his word.

That then raised the question of these 'Scourges' in Ax;'s head. He guessed some humans were really torn over the Maverick Wars, not that he really blamed them on some level. Who knows what horrors they witnessed and/or went through, since humans were the bottom of the food chain in Maverick eyes. I guess the experiments like that guy Slash Beast mentioned seemed more sensible, even if they were defying the natural order.

"So, anyone know where that place is? Y'know, that Shikikata guy's office?", Junpei asked aloud.

"I believe it's a few blocks from here. Galoria is a fair distance in between Hunter Base and the Kirijo Group; I guess your friend thought about that beforehand.", X confirmed. "Shall we get going?"

"I remember hearing it's north of here.", Fuuka noted. "We'd have to go into the business sector, right?" "Last I checked.", X replied.

"…I just realized we don't have an appointment.", Mitsuru said aloud. "If my successor of this period is the family head, he might be booked full."

"Well, there's only one way to find out.", Akihiko mused. "So, which way to the Kirijo building?"

"Um, according to the map, 3 blocks straight ahead and 1 block to the right.", X said, pointing northbound.

"So it's a short walk. That's fine with me.", Junpei used as he walked ahead. The group followed.

* * *

><p>Hunter HQ, Communications Tower A, 11:10 AM<p>

* * *

><p>Douglas was hard at work on the wiring that connects the room's terminals to the rest of the base. For the last week there's a weird inbound kink that gums up reception to the place, so the green mechanic checked the internal specs for a crossed wire or something.<p>

After about 20 minutes of searching, Douglas heaved a large sigh and took his head out of the compartment he was searching. "Christ, there are too many wires here. It's like grasping at straws…!"

Wiping his brow by habit, the plump-nosed Hunter flipped his optic lenses off his eyes and noticed Alia standing next to him. "Not doing too hot, I take it."

"'Fraid not, Alia. I've searched the room's wiring in the floor, walls and ceiling – _twice_ – and everything looks fine. Maybe it's in-between rooms…"

"Great, we gotta rip walls again.", Alia heaved. After the last renovation the last thing needed was another internal job. "I actually came because some of the other guys were looking for you. They may have found some headway at Rouken."

"_Really_? Why do they need my help?" "They think there was some expert hacking done. Someone created backdoors in the system that shouldn't have existed and they think the system was compromised before the attack. They need someone with expert hacking skills to ID how it was done."

"When you call it 'hacking', it loses all class to it. It's the same as calling it a horrible criminal act.", Douglas laughed slightly. "Well, Douglas, hacking can _easily_ become a criminal act. Not everything the Hunters do is seen as completely in the light; the 0th Unit does pretty shady things on occasion. Just ask Zero."

"I'll have to pass. Some things he says set me off." "Like…?" "…Just tell me where they want me."

Alia shook her head with a defeated grin. "Command center. Signas should be there." "Aight.", Douglas nodded before a slight pause. "Uh, could you help me up? Leg servos fell asleep."

"Sure.", Alia replied as she gave him her hand. As she was helping him up, a mid-pitched scream could be heard, knocking the two back down. "The hell was that?!"

"Wh-what the _hell_ is this?!", came the scream. Douglas blinked. "Wasn't that Flame Stag's voice?" Helping him up, Alia got Douglas to his feet as the two ran out the sliding door. Turning the corner, they saw something strange.

They saw Flame Stag – at least they thought it was him – with a freaked expression looking at his reflection on a mirrored wall. The weird part was that he was as tall as Alia , his body was slimmer and…

He was in the same position as Armored Armadillo and the others. His head and neck were human with fair skin, with fairly long and spiky orange-brown hair in long bangs limping about that was the same color as his jumpsuit. His eyes were same bright green the Hunters know his to have and had a thick pink stripe with pointed ends over his nose ridge and reached the outer corners of his eyes. The main attraction was a pair of deer ears poking through his erratic hair.

"How the ever-loving hell did this happen…?!" Stag exasperated as he tugged his cheeks with pinching fingers. Pulling down he eyelids and feeling his deer ears, Stag could feel himself becoming light-headed, which was fairly new to him at the moment.

"Stag? …Is that you?", Douglas asking, only able to blink at the sight. "What the hell…?"

"Guys, I have no idea what's going on! How did this-?!", Stag gaped. "I remember hanging with Eagle for a few minutes, everything got foggy for a second and a few minutes later… _this_!"

'_He was with Eagle? Eagle's been affected by this thing going on so—_', Douglas began before catching onto something. "Wait, foggy?"

"Y-yeah. My vision blurred for a bit, like 15 minutes ago. I didn't fall unconscious or anything, though."

'_So Stag was conscious the whole time?_', Alia thought to herself. "Stag, you know where Dawson is?" "What, you want me to get a checkup?", Stag blinked, brow arched.

"Unless you want Lifesaver or Gate to look at you, take your pick…", Douglas grinned. Stag's ears sharply perked at that. "No thanks, man. Anyone but them. Fine, I'll see that nerd…"

As Stag walked down the corridor to Dawson's office, Alia called after him. "Was there anyone else you were with at the time?"

Flame Stag stopped. "…Now that you mention is, Wheel Gator was there, too. But he left before I did."

"Oh boy. You know where he is?" "If you think something may happen to him, I think he headed to the training center at the East End. Getting a bad feeling, now that you bring it up…."

As the group split ways, Douglas muttered "I got a bad feeling this is only gonna get weirder…" to himself.

* * *

><p>Maverick Hunters Harbor Patrol Building, Abel City Southern Pier 15, 11:17 AM<p>

* * *

><p>Grizzly Slash was sitting in his fairly large office space in his oversized chair, back to the open shades that oversaw a nice third story view of the ocean being the only source of light in the office that he shared with 3 other Hunter inspectors that help run the trades trafficking.<p>

After being given a nice job by Dr. Cain to help oversee goods traveling by water – most of which were trades Grizzly was familiar with and could use his expertise – Grizzly began to get used to the scent of the ocean water by the piers, even though he was more of a forest guy.

Even though Mavericks were now largely a thing of the past, there were still those – human or Reploid – who tried to traffic some less-than-user-friendly stuff on occasion near the area. If people from 200 years ago could make drugs from cleaning products, you could only fathom the kind of stunts you could pull with everyday products this time around.

Without warning, the phone on the bear Reploid's desk rang to life. Checking the Caller ID, it was Zero; now they had some history before, but even Grizzly knew the Crimson Devil called people he had scuffles with for a reason.

"Wonder what he wants?", the gruff bear mused as he picked up the phone. "How can I help you this time around, blondie?"

"_Cute, Grizzly. I'm not calling to waste your time. You catch wind of the Rouken incident yet?_", Zero's voice could be heard from the receiver.

"How could I not? It was all over the airwaves. Brutal stuff, I'm sure. You find something?", Grizzly asked.

"_Wouldn't call you otherwise. We found something at the site that might need some… outside assistance._" "What, the boys at forensics need help from an ex-arms dealer? That's a new one."

"_True, but you wouldn't be laughing if I told you the boys think that some humans got hold of and utilized Jedahdite_." Grizzly sharply rose from his desk, his chair slamming into the wall under the windowsill. "_JEDAHDITE_?! You sure about that?!"

"'_Fraid so._ _Sadly, we can only guess begin to guess how a teenage girl – the alleged perp we got so far – got her hands on the stuff. It's just as poisonous as liquid mercury to humans. Not to mention synthesizing the stuff isn't cheap._"

Grizzly grunted as to affirm the statement. Jedahdite was a powerful liquid metal base that had qualities similar to liquid mercury, since it required very high temperatures to forge and could be used for a variety of things, but Jedahdite had a unique property not seen in many natural compositions:

It could be curded like a sort of organic compound into a paste that, when applied to most metals or carbon surfaces, could soften the molecular structures of these substances so that they cold be pierced even by something as brittle as a pencil lead. However, this sort of thing was extremely dangerous, even to Reploids. There were rumors that even Sigma back in the day was wary of using it as a weapon, since one slip-up could cause massive Maverick causalities. Once it was in its liquid metal state, the stuff was highly unstable, and ate through Reploid or Mechaniloid armoring like highly corrosive acid.

It was also easily absorbed into organic tissue, which led to lethal poisoning of humans and animals. Very special – and expensive – polythermal glass and rubber containers were constructed to contain the substance without melting or breakage, which led to the substance being banned out of sheer danger on multiple levels. For some small number of humans to be handling the stuff meant major balls…

"You thinking that this human girl was using Jedahdite to carve open the prison like a well-done steak?", Grizzly asked, his tone becoming serious. "There's some major contradictions to the statement, y'know. Last I checked, the only legal Jedahdite producer in the _world_ still in business is Celeste Industries, and that's in Switzerland, buried deep in the Swiss Alps with top-notch security. Unless these guys could make some in their garage, I doubt theft was possible."

"_Well, according to our friend Froid here, it isn't hard to get the materials_._ It's a matter of baking the stuff without blowing something up… or a meltdown_.", Zero's voice came through.

Grizzly vaguely remember Froid. A bear-modeled Reploid like himself, but he looked – and was – much younger, and without his oversized left arm and back boosters. Nice kid, if not too forward. "Yeah. You'd need a pretty good _oven_ to bake _this_ cake. One that can handle over 800 Celsius and not become defunct."

Now things were starting to make a bit more sense. The reported carving of the titanium walled prison being so easily gashed in a short time was through the Jedahdite's properties. Problem was the method suggested it was applied to a cutting weapon, a large one at that to the deed. Tungsten was one of the few metals that came to mind. Grizzly knew that the stuff was highly resistant to high temperatures to melt, especially tungsten carbide metal. But the stuff as a blade could still be weakened molecularly by Jedahdite, unless…

Grizzly' jaw dropped. "Zero, did you find anything in those carvings?"

A pause was held. "_Now that you mention it… there was a strange compound meshed with the Jedahdite in the resin left. We think it was a petroleum-like cream, only more water-based."_

'_Petroleum?_... _Now I get it…! These guys are really crafty!_', Grizzly awed from the realization. "Petroleum nitrate can be mixed with Jedahdite to make it into a finer film-like substance and buffer the degrading of applied substance's molecular structure!"

"_In layman's terms…?_", Zero asked. Suddenly another voice was heard in the background; it was a human researcher name Jill, who said "_It's like buttering toast, but without removing the crunch of the bread!_" Another voice – Froid – could be heard going "_Only you would think that, Jill._" with a slight chuckle.

"_So… it was an applicant… Question is how did they get it done…_", Zero thought aloud.

One question was answered, only for several more to take its place. At that moment, one of Grizzly's officemates, a young human blond with shades on and an appearance of a 'surfer dude' named Misha walked in, breakfast in hand in the form of a croissant and a latte. "Mornin' Grizz. You check the news?"

Suddenly an idea popped into Grizzly's head. "Say, Misha, were there any incoming ships from East Asia with this stuff?", Grizzly asked as he began writing a list with pen and paper, putting Zero on speakerphone.

"Like Russia and Hong Kong…? Probably a couple. Anything in particular?" "Any of these.", Grizzly replied as he handed Misha the list.

Reading over it, Misha's sunglasses slid a bit, revealing grayish-blue eyes. "Yo, you serious? This is some serious baggage, man." "Just making sure. The route to here from the mainland isn't far off from Rouken."

"You saying someone's smuggling weapons-grade material into Abel? Wait, how far off from Rouken? It's just me, but if they had a speedboat, someone could drop off from a transport and get there."

That idea hit Zero like a ton of bricks. A boat heading there from mainland Asia? They wouldn't be coming from the Japanese coastline, which more attention is cast from the prison. Better yet, the prison was like a square with three sides surrounded by coral rock and the open side faced the Abel coastline. It'd be harder to detect an incoming boat from sight or sonar through tall coral and steel fixtures.

"_Your name was Misha, right? I think you just solved a major problem here._" Misha sheepishly rubbed his head. "Aw, you're making me blush."

"_The attack was believed to be before 6 AM. Check for transports from mainland Asia that came early morning._" "Makes sense. I'll look for the materials and evidence of a smaller boat, too.", the human blond replied.

Misha grabbed his breakfast and raced off. "He's dedicated, I'll give 'em that.", Grizzly grinned. "Sitting and most doing desk work, I bet a bit of field work would be a nice change." "_Heh. Says the 'Teddy Bear'. You looked so cute being the gentle giant to those kids a while back_.", Zero mocked coyly.

"Says the 'ace hunter' that looks like a Barbie doll.", Grizzly grinned toothily over the phone unit. "Does that make X Ken or something?" "_Ha ha, you're making my sides split, Grizz_. _Very mature of you_." "If the shoe fits."

* * *

><p>Abel City Southern Pier, Pier 18, 2 minutes later<p>

* * *

><p>Scarfing down what was left of his breakfast, Misha jogged down the eastward side of the piers, the scent of ocean water fairly pleasant with the lack of low tide. Since his office was on the eastern side a couple of piers from the center, he chose to check the shorter side first.<p>

After reaching Pier 19, he noticed the starboard side sported the insignia for Lao Zhen, a internationally-owned shipping and company centered in Eastern Asia known to be a frequent visitor to the wharf. The captain of the ship who leads the vessels heading to Abel's a bit of an old sea dog with a stick up his ass about protocol, but he's as tough and honest as they come.

Misha knew the guy enough to know that the captain, Wan Shu Li, kept a pretty tight ship in order, so if anything squirrely happened, he'd sniff it out like police dog on a lead. Misha' chin-length blond hair wisp as he turned to see the captain, a bowl-cut haired Asian man standing at 5'5" in a typical uniform of a cyan color, tipping his hat as he seemed to be reading down a clipboard in his right hand, pen firmly griped in his left hand, fingers on the bill. He seemed to be saying something in discontent in his native tongue of Cantonese.

'_Speak of the devil and he shall appear_.', Misha mused. The man in question didn't like being approached from behind, so Misha walked towards him saying his name aloud, hoping to get his attention. Turning over his shoulder, Wan Shu noticed the young man who was wearing a surfer's getup. "Oh, it's you Misha. How are you?", the Asian captain said in a slight accent.

"Work's work, Mr. Li. The usual. This the shipment from Hong Kong?" Wan's grin twitched a bit. "Yeah, but something odd happened during our voyage. I'm still trying to figure it out." "What's the problem?", Misha blinked.

"Well, our shipment this time around comprised of naval transport parts. Some models were complete and the bigger ones were split into framework, engines and parts. One of the complete ones seems to have gone up and vanished partway, which is really strange."

Misha's glasses slid for a moment, his eyes widening. "Were any of them speedboat models…?"

"Yes, though they're really meant to be life escape boats if a larger vessel ran into emergencies. It wasn't a sports boat or one of those sleeker, nicer models – we don't ship those."

Misha looked deep in thought. '_An emergency boat goes missing on a transport ship on the way here, which passes through Rouken's territory to get to the pier_…' Fixing his glasses, Misha asked "Was there anything else that struck you as odd? Like was there anything missing? Or _anyone_?"

The lefty captain shook his head. "No. All 30 members of my crew were accounted for from start to finish. There was the case of the keys to the engine of the boat, though. Prior to popular belief, while being transported, complete, functioning models on our transports don't have their keys with them. If they were land or air vehicles we remove the gas and other flammable fluids, too. We don't need any accidents."

"Wait, what about boats?", Misha asked, noticing that that detail was missing. Wan closed his eyes. "Protocol's bit different. Key rule's the same, but we leave the tanks half full just in case. There would be a fireproof container holding the other half of the fuel in a compartment away from the engine."

Misha wasn't liking this one bit. If the idea of a stowaway was slowly making sense, this tidbit of information was making it all the more believable. The only issues remaining were how someone could sneak in and get the boat _off_ the transport.

"Where do you keep the keys?" "In the storage room, neatly filed away inside the navigation room. You need a special key to get in there."

"And how many are there on your ship...? "Just three. One is held by my assistant and myself each at all times, and the third is contained in a special emergency safe that requires a 6-digit code. That too is in the navigation room." Fishing in his shirt pocket, Wan revealed a bronze control keycard. "This is what it looks like. Also, each keycard is specific to a certain vessel and cannot be used on another ship."

"So say if someone was able to get a hold of a keyca-" "That belies another problem. Security's tight while boarding cargo and all staff aboard _must_ be in uniform. And I recognize all my wards by face, name and background. The idea of someone getting on board, smuggling a speedboat _and_ its key, not to mention getting it in working order off the vessel and speeding away unnoticed is highly improbable."

"I wonder about that. Did you here about the Rouken incident this morning?" "Yeah I heard of—_wait a minute_. You saying my ship may have been a mule for that _travesty_?", Wan gaped, his bony cheeks pressing outward as he grit his teeth.

"I can tell you're an honest guy, Mr. Li. You wouldn't let something like this go unnoticed. Still, signs seem to point to someone was able to get on your ship and make off with a boat." Wan sighed with a hint of annoyance. "No, you're right. This never happened before. What if my boss finds out?"

"The Maverick Hunters and authorities are chasing leads right now. I'm sure he won't be mad if you're helping to catch the perp. If your ship was truly the mule needed to get to Rouken, there might be some valuable clues onboard."

"…I suppose that makes sense. Should I get my crew?" "Yeah. In the meantime I got some calls to make." As Wan ran off, Misha pulled out a cell phone from his shorts pocket and dialed his office line.

"Hey, Grizz? You'll never guess what I found."

* * *

><p>Abel City, Northwest Business Section, 5587 West 15th Street, Kirijo Building Courtyard, 11:43 AM<p>

* * *

><p>After a lengthy walk and a few crosswalks, Minato's group reached the courtyard of the Kirijo Building, the structure standing 10 stories tall with uniform sides of reinforced, polarized-tinted glass. Either side of the entryway was lined with well-tended plant life in the form of flower beds and well-trimmed shrubbery and several trees in an orderly fashion.<p>

"Wow. Looks pretty well-kept.", Akihiko noted. Fuuka knelt to sniff a bush of mature daisies, smiling. "Such a nice scent."

"We can bask in the beauty later. Let's see if my successor is here.", Mitsuru urged, wasting no time. As the group passed the central fountain in the foyer and passed the automated doors, they entered a bright lobby that had the open feeling of a shopping mall.

It was a business office, but there was a koi pond on one side of the lobby with a small Zen garden next to it and a classy café on the other side of the open space. Centered near the elevators was the reception desk, where a young woman with ponytailed brown hair wearing glasses and a feminine suit was typing on her terminal when the group approached. "How can I help you?", she asked. Mitsuru eyed her name plaque, which read 'Saya Omaeda'.

"Hello. My name is Mitsuru. I'm a relative of the president, and he wished to see us on certain business. I don't think we have a time penciled in however.", Mitsuru said fluidly.

Saya clicked twice on her terminal and studied the screen. "Mr. Kirijo should be ending a meeting in ten minutes. I'll message him now about your arrival." Tapping a few buttons on her phone and picking up the receiver, she waited or a tone before being connected. "_Yes, Saya_?"

"There's a Ms. Mitsuru and her group here to see you. She says she's here on business.", the receptionist spoke. There was a moment's pause. "_Alright. Send them up to my office in five._ _I need to wrap up_." "Understood."

Hanging up, Saya locked eyes with Mitsuru. "He'll see you in his office on the tenth floor. Oh and… is this your dog?", gesturing to Koromaru. The Shiba Inu whined a bit. "He's with us.", Mitsuru smiled.

Saya blinked. "Very well, just keep watch over him. Take the elevator on your left."

Mitsuru bowed lightly as the group headed to the elevator. "That went well.", Axl whispered to X.

As the large elevator rose to the top floor and came to a smooth stop, the doors open to a very suave looking waiting room with mahogany floors and furniture with fine cushioning, small marble tables, a large fish tank on one side imbedded on the wall and a corner with a sink and coffee maker and fridge with a few niceties. Siting to the left of the double doors to Shikikata's office was his secretary, who was a women in her late thirties with blond hair in a long ponytail slung over her shoulder in a navy blue dress and blouse.

Ceasing her typing and taking notice, she said "Mr. Kirijo will see you now." In a soft voice.

The group slowly filed into a nicely lit and grand-looking office with several bookcases lined with books of very colorful spines and trinkets, a globe stand, a large plasma screen TV over a table setting housing a nice tea set surrounded by two nice sofas and several chairs in a semicircle, a nice mahogany desk by the window view with state-of-the-art personal computer with stacks of paper, a lamp and a few other things on the tabletop. The light blue drapes on the windows were partly open, allowing the sunlight to penetrate the room and its navy blue walls.

In fact, there were two people in the room. Sitting in the desk was Shikikata, the current Kirijo head with his chin-length scarlet hair neatly groomed with few hanging strands and wearing a black suit and tie. And over his shoulder with an arm firmly planted on the tabletop was Kurobane, the younger twin of the two who was studying to become a doctor, who Axl met the night before. Unlike his brother, he was wearing a suit as well, but unbuttoned and his tie very slack, with the top two buttons of his white dress shirt unbuttoned as well. His hair, which was much longer than the elder twin, was a bit frizzled, but otherwise kept the same youthful look as his twin and Mitsuru, their ancestor in the same room.

Ceasing his typing, Shikakata smiled and stood from his desk. "I didn't expect you to come to me so soon. If I had known you were stopping by, I'd give you the full guest treatment, even with this being an office."

Mitsuru smiled. "I see the family name is as strong as ever after my time." Shikikata chuckled. "Well, even with the Maverick Uprisings, we Kirijo always took it upon ourselves to survive. That's why in the last few years we really stepped up our game as the Virus outbreaks began to dwindle and made our move getting people back on the road to prosperity. Finance, education, medical practice… Kirijo has taken to being an example of human perseverance. But that's not why you're here, is it."

Minato stepped forward. "We just met with Elizabeth at the apartment she set up for us. She asked us to come here." Kurobane sighed a bit. "I'm sure she did. Always with her head in the clouds." The group was a bit confused by this.

"Kurobane is studying to become a prescribing doctor and neurologist. As you can imagine studies are very demanding and the classes he's taking are murder. Not to mention I sympathize with his calling his professors 'hardasses'. They're real slave drivers. I had to pull some strings to excuse him from his seminar to come here."

"A neurologist. That sounds exciting.", Mitsuru complimented. "What made you choose that path?" Kurobane rubbed his head sheepishly. "I guess the biggest reason was that we awakened to our Personas at an early age and the whole thing about our brains being able to pull it off seemed so captivating that I wanted to learn everything about it. Curiosity's a real killer."

"Speaking of Personas, I couldn't help but overhear everything that went on back then, and from the transmission a few hours back.", X interjected. "You seem to have a certain level of knowledge of who we're dealing with here."

The Kirijo brothers traded solemn glances. "Sit down. This'll be a while." The group walked over to the seating arrangements and made themselves comfortable, with Axl and Akihiko leaning over the back of the sofa, Yukari, Minato, Ken, Junpei and Koromaru sitting on the sofa (Koro lying on Ken's lap), Aegis standing on one end of the group's couch, X and Fuuka sitting in solo chairs and Mitsuru sitting on Shikata's left, while Kurobane sat on his right. The current head had a remote in his hand and pressed a button, bringing the TV on the wall to life. Another button made the curtains slide almost entirely closed, allowing some light to enter the room to allow being able to see in the giant office.

"Since the early 2010's, the Kirijo group has been taking on the job of monitoring the world's interaction with Shadows and the like from behind the curtain. There have been some instances over time that involved humans in different places coming in contact with Shadow-saturated planes of existence meshing with ours and our family has been part of dealing with the whole thing as time moved on."

Junpei blinked. "Wait, so you're saying Shadows were never really gone? They just came back again and again, is that what you're saying?"

Kurobane sighed. "As long as humans exist, so too will Shadows. That is an undeniable fact. However the Kirijo family and its affiliates have come to realize certain things about them and made major discoveries."

This caught some attention. "What was found?", Aegis inquired. As an anti-Shadow living weapon unit, she would be inclined to have interest in the subject.

"Like humans, Shadows incubate from negative human emotion that doesn't resolve, and these lingering emotions give rise to Shadows in a similar matter to giving birth to a child. However, there are gaps in our knowledge.", Kurobane continued. Shikikata pressed a button and a few diagrams and charts appeared.

"In the last 200 years or so, Shadows have been on an erratic up and down curve with little pattern, except for when certain elements exist in the human realm for extended periods of time. As the factors stabilize into the norm these factors – a 'greenhouse effect' if you will – the barrier between our plane and the Shadow's veil of existence erodes, allowing Shadows to appear in our world." Shikikata went to the next slide, showing atmospheric data.

"However, the greenhouse effect is very fragile and requires a suitable area in space-time that satisfies these conditions, otherwise Shadows end up like fish out of water. Areas like Tartarus, for example."

The S.E.E.S members began to exchange looks. "We looked at past records of your battles and experiences. The Transmogrifying of humans during the Dark Hour for example. We believe this was a sort of spiritual antibody, a 'Pandora's Box'. This antibody displaced their existence within the Dark Hour, making Shadows misalign with these humans in space-time and thus cannot harm them. By becoming aware of the Dark Hour, however, this antibody vanishes because your space-time synchs with the Dark Hour. It's like a habit you notice yourself doing once you're aware of it."

"That much we know, sort of.", Akihiko replied, twirling his wrist. "I suppose you're also saying it's these parameters also allow Persona to exist in the Dark Hour the same way Shadows do." X turned to the boxer. "That's because Shadows and Personas are the same thing, right?"

"Precisely.", Shikikata acknowledged. "We also have come to learn that the Dark Hour occurred between midnight and one second after because of a radiation axis interacting with the residential properties of Shadows from the moon's orbit and leftover ultraviolet rays."

Fuuka gasped, hand to her face. "That explains why Shadows were more active on some nights more than others! And that's also why the Arcana Shadows that were part of Nyx only showed up on a full moon! Am I right?"

Kurobane nodded. "Right on the money. Since this radiation was stronger as the full moon came, this would've raised the Shadow's aggressive nature with the full moon being the apex. Likewise, the new moon was the time where Shadows became lethargic and powerless."

"That… actually explains a lot.", Ken admitted. "So why did Shadows attack humans in the first place?"

"That, too, we can answer. About a year after Tartarus, a group of high schoolers from the rural township of Inaba came into contact with a similar atmosphere and gained Personas, but was 'inside a TV realm', as the records shown. This involved that world of Shadows to be used as a ploy for multiple murders that baffled police for months. It wasn't until the murders and the TV world teeming with Shadows were connected that the mystery became clear. And according to record, the leader of the group was also a Fool Arcana Persona user like Minato is. A Wild Card."

This caught Minato's attention. "A Wild Card? …What was his name?" In response, Shikikata withdrew a manila folder containing several files and pictures. Flipping to the first one was a school photo of a young man about Minato's age with short silver hair swept to the left with steel gray eyes in a Yasogami High 2nd year uniform. Minato's eyes widened. '_His eyes… they're like mine…_'

"His name was Yuu Narukami, whose uncle was the policeman in charge of investigating these murders. I don't have all the facts on me, but some events happened that caused him and several schoolmates that became involved and gained Personas, using them to solve the murder cases and catch the killer, who was, at the time, manipulating the Shadows into swallowing our world from behind the scenes. I know it involved the media and a 'Midnight Channel' as an apparatus to predict future victims and stop them accordingly."

The group absorbed the information and looked at Yuu's image. "What interested me, however, was testimony recorded in the files by a friend of his that also had a Persona. Unlike Tartarus, these Shadows from this 'TV World' were controlled by the weather of the town than the moon. They were more active when the human world was covered in fog and rain."

"Were there… other instances like this? Especially with such dependent variables?", Mitsuru asked. Both brothers nodded.

"After extensive research, we think that Shadows are inclined to act according to how nature runs its course, as opposed to human interaction. Human action has very little to do with it.", Kurobane continued.

Junpei leaned forward. "That doesn't explain why they attacked humans or caused Apathy Syndrome back then." "Ah, that.", Shikikata sighed. He took a deep breath.

"Shadows are considered as incomplete human emotions unrestrained by an ego, and thus go berserk. They seek humans because they can retain this ego, which Shadows long to have to feel a sense of being complete. But by leeching of the ego of humans… well it's kind of like a vampire bite. Suck the blood and leave the influence behind."

"And what about… these 'Scourges'? Does any of this have to do why they also have Persona powers and can use them in this plane without assistance?", Aegis asked aloud.

This was met with a brief moment of silence. "Well, truth is…", Shikikata stammered. There was an ominous air in his voice.

"We think that the barrier that allowed the Dark Hour to exist and be contained, after 200 years of accumulated raw human essence gone wild, has finally started to crack under the pressure. More and more residual Shadow essence has been accumulated in the last twenty years than any other time period in our race's history. Even the times of the Black Plague and World War II pale in comparison."

X's eyes shrunk. "The Maverick Uprisings!" Shikikata nodded silently. "With so much death and despair claiming innocent lives and war grazing the earth to cinders to the point of nearing the endangered status, the fact that the last year or so having made so much progress between humans and Reploids is nothing short of a miracle. But with all of the damage done and god-knows-what that happened, anything is possible. Perhaps all the events like Eurasia and Jakob's Elevator only sped up the process…"

The room held silence for a moment. Kurobane inhaled and began to speak. "Even with the fire and brimstone at our door, we never failed to monitor the balance between this plane and the Shadows. Humanity had enough on its plate with Mavericks. Even now the barrier doesn't show much sign of any extensive damage, but perhaps the stress of so much happening weakened the barrier. And from there, the tipped balance could influence anything or anyone exposed to it."

"Oh. That reminds me. Can Shadows affect people or objects enough to change them?", Axl asked aloud. "Cuz we got a few guys that had a bit of a makeover since last night and our best guys can't figure it out."

The Kirijo brothers exchanged looks. "What… kind of makeover?", Kurobane asked aloud.

"Oh, you know, the kind that causes animal-model Hunters to turn human and look like something out of a ginjika manga or something.", Axl replied casually, shrugging. The brothers looked totally lost. "A… what?", the elder asked.

"Yeah, we saw a couple of them already. The were human from the neck up, got skinnier and had ears on their heads for some of 'em.", Junpei continued, demonstrating by putting pointed fingers over his head like horns.

"I… well…", Shikikata stammered, speechless. "I never heard of such a thing… This is getting weird even for me…" The elder redhead could be seen rubbing his temples with his palms. The younger brother looked like he was still trying to wrap his mind around that little-known fact.

"I understand that may sound odd. Believe me, our group is 200 years predating this. We already had our hands full with Aegis, and _that_ was a trial by fire. Er, no offense, Aegis.", Mitsuru quoted. Aegis chuckled nervously, knowing full well that the year she got acquainted with S.E.E.S. was not the smoothest ride on the road.

"I suppose I'll have to contact Dr. Cain on my own and ask about that. If what you say is true then this may be something to look out for. Who knows if the Dark Hour is going to flare up again and make something _worse_ happen?", Shikikata shuddered.

"Like?", Axl asked.

"Most technology shuts down entirely during the Dark Hour. Normal appliances turn off with no evidence of it occurring, but stronger exposure can cause permanent damage. Imagine how that could effect Reploids."

The younger Hunter's eyes widened. If the Maverick Wars caused mass Reploid population plummeting over several years, imagine if a supernatural effect could do the same in _one night_? Not to mention from something beyond their collective understanding? The concept was like trying to prepare for the sky falling.

"You can tell how serious this could get. Not to mention that according to reports of the encounter at midnight suggests that these people are fully aware of these chains of events already and is likely a step ahead. They may even have a way to freely manipulate the Dark Hour at such close proximity."

This alarmed Minato. "What do you mean _manipulate_?"

"Well…", Kurobane began. "Truth be told, in comparison to your time, the Dark Hour of this era hasn't been consecutive. That is to say that there were for a time days in which the Dark Hour was in fact skipped over and time flowed in our realm seamlessly." A pause.

"There were even periods where the Dark Hour won't appear for up to a week's time and there would be little evidence of it ever happening at all. But in recent weeks, it has started to resurface. According to our reports the Dark Hour was at its strongest activity in months just last night; it was building up for the last three days so we knew that something was up. The buildup wasn't a natural one – it spiked by outside influence. That in itself can pose a serious problem. Not only is the concept of an enemy able to harness the plane frightening, but the idea of Shadows running about makes my skin crawl."

The rom was silent again. Koromaru whined a bit. Then as Ken pat the Shiba Inu on the head, something occurred to him. "Hey, if Personas can start to work outside the Dark Hour, could that mean that maybe they could be used in our world like those guys could?"

Everyone looked at the boy. "I mean, that guy who summoned his Persona and fought some of the Maverick Hunters looked like he was doing it no problem. Maybe if we were able to do the same thing we might figure something out."

Akihiko placed a hand on his chin. "Y'know, that was bugging me a bit. If memory serves, Fuuka was able to do it for a moment, too." Fuuka stammered a bit, having been put on the spot. "Is this true?", asked Shikikata.

"Well, yes. It just… well it's hard to put it in words. It just felt 'natural'. Like I was summoning Juno in the midst of the Dark Hour.", Fuuka answered. Shikikata leaned in a bit. "And were you experiencing anything else?"

"Well, I was a bit lightheaded for a bit. Then about a half an hour later, I got this huge headache. It passed after a few minutes though." Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, I remember that. I was there and you were told to lie down."

"I see… so my theory is sound.", Kurobane murmured. Earning attention, he continued on. "I've been speculating on this ever since my brother and I have been having a few things going on when we summoned our Personas outside the Dark hour by chance. We didn't even do it intentionally, but we started noticing some things."

"There were times when our focus either sharpened or became skittish, we had headaches, our sense of perspective began to alter and so forth. I'm still rearing from a nasty bruise from a dizzy spell when I conjured Zephyr, my Persona."

"Zehphyr?", Aegis asked aloud.

In a plume of blue flames and the sound of shattering glass, a humanoid figure appeared behind the sofa the Kirijo Brothers and Mitsuru sat – in which the Kirijo ancestor turned to see – revealing a young male with light skin, a chiseled figure and was stark naked save for three large sashes around his body; one slung from both of his shoulder and crossed in the front and a third wrapped twice around his left arm and wrapped twice loosely around his waist and tucked into his hidden privates, all over which were a lavish dark blue laced with scarlet rims.

Neck-length auburn hair draped from the crown of his head and veiled the right side of his face with three major bangs splitting and hovering over his left cheek, under his visible green eye. A large angel wing sprouted from his left shoulder blade and draped over his shoulder like a mantle, the feathers snaking over the inner side of his ankle and further veiled his lower regions.

"You called?", the Persona, Zephyr, asked in a serene voice. This surprised the S.E.E.S. group a bit.

"Your Persona speaks?", Minato asked, a bit surprised.

"You're the Wild Card, you tell me.", the angelic Persona quipped slyly, a devilish grin seeming unfit of his visage on his face. Minato blushed a bit, remembering that as the Wild Card, countless Persona take housing in his being, each of them having their own personality and voice. Some were just more vocal than others.

"Zephyr has a unique ability; besides being a wind-type Persona under the Fortune Arcana, he can act as a beacon and pick up the voices of the wind. That is to say he can hear radio frequencies and relay them to me. That's how I knew the Scourges were going to plot a move. But the further out of my range it is the longer it takes for me to pick it up." Informed the elder twin.

"So you picked up on their strike on HQ last night?", X asked, astonished. The elder twin shook his head. "About 15 minutes after it happened, sadly. My ability isn't perfect and it takes a lot of effort to keep it active. I'm nowhere as good as Miss Yamagishi here."

Fuuka smiled wryly. "Well, being a sensory-type takes practice, I suppose."

"And what about your Persona, Kurobane?", Mitsuru asked. As Zephyr was dismissed, the younger twin concentrated and in the same kind of entrance appeared a tall man with aging white hair that grew out like a bush. Like Zephyr he was wearing something to veil his frame – an oversized toga that draped over his left shoulder to his right hip and fell to his bare ankles with a long cloth tying the loose ends over his heart traveling under his right arm and back around and a sleeve of black cloth covering his left forearm.

His muscles suggested he was a tad weighty but suggested good condition, and carried a staff with twin entwining snakes in his right hand; one snake was white, the other pitch black. His eyes open to reveal gray orbs paired with his grisly, overgrown gray face-beard.

"Meet Asclepius. Electric-type Persona under the Star Arcana, whose specialty is healing arts. He acts as a bit of a conduit to help in my degree of becoming a doctor, and as he's based on the Greek god of medicine, I suppose it's fitting."

Dismissing the Persona, Kurobane clutched his forehead. "I get headaches from lack of sleep. Your surprise visit wasn't the greatest idea; I had no sleep after your 'visit'."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Kinda stupid to do it before dawn, looking back.", Axl admitted sheepishly.

"That reminds me.", Shikikata said aloud, sitting erect. "Weren't the Hunters holding an investigation at Rouken? I doubt they couldn't find anything that stood out."

"They should be wrapping up by now. There's probably the whole trial of identifying the bodies and telling families. Grim stuff.", X sighed. "I'm sure.", Shikikata replied.

Among all this, Minato remained silent, seemingly in thought. X noticed this. "Something on your mind?"

"…Well… it's about last night. Something's been bugging me about this whole thing. It was something they said at the end." Junpei blinked.

"You mean how they have some ace up their sleeve to achieve their 'goal'? But wasn't that…?"

Akihiko's expression hardened. "Complete Reploid genocide." X and Axl cringed at that.

"But was it that they said about a 'key'? Some sort of method to make it happen?", Axl asked aloud. Minato heaved a heavy breath.

"I knew this was going to happen." X blinked. "What do you mean?"

Shikikata blinked, looking square at the blunette. "You mean… you didn't tell them yet?" Minato gave a wry look.

"What was I supposed to tell them? That I'm technically dead and somehow _magically_ came back to life? That I housed the essence of the death god Nyx for ten years and sealed her away using my life force as a seal? Or how the incarnation of death that lived in me like I was an apartment appeared as a little boy that had a major growth spurt after the Arcana Shadows bit the dust and broke out on his own posing as a guy in my class? Yeah, I'm _certain _highly advanced Reploids with no knowledge of the Dark Hour would this story."

The brothers exchanged looks, a bit taken aback by the fervor of the statement, but hell, Minato made a point. Getting a force of science to believe the supernatural existed was like mixing water and oil – it couldn't be done.

"True. It's be pretty hard to not label it as a fairy tale.", X admitted. "But last night has made me look at this differently. The intrusion at HQ, Eagle and the others, not to mention how a rogue Mechaniloid held a message regarding you guys from someone who could erase all traces; they're not things can be dismissed as run-of-the-mill occurrences. And if what you all have been saying is true, then we're going to need to pool our strength to stop whatever those guys may be planning."

"Even if it means you may have to stop them at the ultimate end?", Shikikata asked with a sharp tone of seriousness. "I know how you feel about not killing humans. And I also know that most Reploids were. given a second chance don't want to repeat their mistakes. However, they are a very real threat, and despite them being humans, they won't give you Reploids the same courtesy. Their hatred is real, and on some level, justified. They'd hold no qualms in snuffing out your kind, even if it were Thomas Light's legacy, the same one who saved humanity from extinction."

X absorbed the information with unfazed eyes. "I know. But if there's a way to end this without taking life, I will do what I can to make it happen."

The elder twin smirked. "Good answer." At that point, Axl stood from his leaning position and threw his arms behind his head. "Well, this was fascinating. Kinda 'haunted house' for my taste but it looks like there'll be something to do after all. I wonder if Shadows are like Mavericks and would fall as easily from my bullets."

"It wouldn't work.", Mitsuru said aloud with a bit of a huff. "Only Persona-users can affect them. Modern weaponry even from this time would do little to no good." Akihhiko suddenly cracked a grin. "I'll say this much; Tartarus _was_ kinda like a haunted house. Only instead of cobwebs and ghosts you had scurrying Shadows and endless flights of stairs."

"So many stairs…", Junpei whimpered. "Though to be fair it was a good way to stay in shape. A way to impress the ladies.", he ended, grinning a bit and trying to look cool.

Yukari shuddered a bit. "Please don't turn into another Ryoji, please."

Axl blinked. "Wasn't he the guy who was living in you since you were a kid? How's that work out?"

Giving a weird expression, Minato blinked. "I don't want even what to know where you're going with this."

"I mean, he was a Shadow, right? How'd he get out as a human? …Did it hurt?", Axl asked as if without a care in the world. Minato's expression darkened into a mortified hanging mouth look. "… I don't know how's a bigger blockhead, you or Junpei." Junpei gave the Fool a hurt glare at that.

"In light of what you shared, I plan on telling my superiors what you shared to better prepare for what's on the horizon. With you blessing of course.", X spoke clearly. The brothers nodded.

"Perhaps we should directly conference with Dr. Cain. Also, it may be best to come up with a way to discretely bone up the pubic handling of the situation. We can't have the public go into a frenzy and disrupt all the hard work of the last year. Not only would it cripple the world's morale but would also tip our hand to the enemy. I'm not willing to give them an inch, with potential control over the Dark Hour in their arsenal.", concluded the younger Kirijo twin.

"If what happened to your comrades with these transformations is what I _think_ it is, we really need to play smart here, unless we get results _worse_ than this.", Shikikata enunciated, putting some emphasis on the last part.

"How do you mean…?", Mitsuru asked, shifting in her position. Standing up, Kurobane walked over to a bookcase near the sitting arrangement and ran his hand along a row, ending and withdrawing a white-covered book that seemed fairly thick.

It was a book on ancient folklore and myth titled 'The Myth Matrix: An Expert Guide to World Spirituality and Folklore'. In bold black letters. There was a fair number of sticky notes sticking from the vertical edge for the pages, hinting it was read rather thoroughly.

Flipping to a page, he ended on page 593, the title reading 'Nyx'. As he saw the overhead, Minato's mind skipped a beat.

"Either human history and Shadowkind are closer knit that we thought or they have a cruel sense of humor. Nyx was considered one of the oldest deities of Greek legend. Daughter of Chaos and consort of Erebus, she was haled as the goddess of night and was said to be the mother of many other deities, prominently ones like _Nemesis_ and _Thanatos_, the gods of retribution and death incarnate, respectively."

S.E.E.S. absorbed this information with a noticeable level of surprise, absorbing the info and subconsciously bringing their minds back to the Shadows.

"My Persona's original form was named Nemesis… who awakened when my mother died...", Ken swallowed. '_The god of retribution…_'

"Pharos… Ryoji's true form was Thanatos…" Minato added.

"And Nyx ,the goddess of night was their mother…", Mitsuru reiterated, her chin cupped.

"And the Nyx we fought was the 'mother of Shadows'… who appeared in the dead of night.", Fuuka breathed slowly.

Junpei chortled nervously. "Man, that'd be a pretty cool irony if it didn't hit so close to home."

"There's more." X said aloud, leaning a bit to see the book. "It says many of her legends were told in poetry or song by a man named Orpheus."

Minato's eyes shrank, as did the rest of his circle. "That's… _my_ Persona's name." X and Axl were surprised for a moment.

"This sounds almost planned out. Kinda like a higher power kind of thing." Axl noted aloud.

"Like I said; 'cruel sense of humor'.", the younger twin sighed. "Read the last passage on the page."

Scrolling down, Minato, who took the book at Kurobane's gesture, reached the bottom paragraph, and after skimming it, paled another shade. "Nyx was heralded as a goddess of mercy through means the end, which was one of many interpretations of 'the end of days'."

Yukari's jaw slacked. "The Fall…!" Junpei scratched at his temple. "Man, this is getting real freaky fast. So, like, what does that have to do with those guys getting to Nyx, if that's their plan?"

"Well, they seemed like they wanted to abduct him at first. What struck me as odd was how they got in and caused that stand-off.", X thought aloud, hand on his chin.

"Maybe it was a confidence thing. If they really disliked Reploids so much, maybe going into Hunter Base was uncomfortable and decided to get Minato to come to them?" Axl gestured.

Minato pondered on that for a second. '_Come to think of it, the third member of their group said she got lost. But there's probably more to that…_' Minato stood up. "There's something about the third person that night. The girl - Jaguar, I think her name was."

"Yeah? You think she was up to something while skulking around?", X asked. "Maybe.", replied the blunette. "The time window just seems weird."

"What really grinds my gears is that we got nothing on them for a lead. Between everything going on and the investigation, we got zip on where we can start for a next step.", Axl huffed.

"So we'd have to wait until they decide to show up again? That's not very efficient.", Fuuka sulked.

Mitsuru nodded. "True. They have the elements of surprise and mystery on their side. Not only are we blind on their objectives and motives for the most part, but we don't know who's among the enemy, how many there are among them or their backgrounds."

Minato clenched his fist. "And on top of that, they'll probably be after me, since they seem to fancy Nyx's power, or whatever left of it I have. It's a safe bet they'd have me high on their to-do list."

"Wait, you're not sure?", Shikikata blinked.

"No, it's a safe bet they'd want me.", Minato replied. The current chairman of the Kirijo merely shook his head.

"Not that, the first thing. You spoke as if you didn't know if you still had any of Nyx's powers."

Minato was surprised at this, and pondered for a moment. "Well, I suppose it's safe to say I'm not 'sensing' the same presence of that power anymore. I felt it most of the time back during the Dark Hour when Tartarus was out, but now… I'm not feeling it. But that doesn't mean it's simply gone, and I wouldn't think that those guys would stop chasing me whether they knew that or not."

"Isn't there someway to check?", X asked aloud, leaning slightly. "Does this power come in a tangible form?" "Yeah, like a Persona?", Axl continued.

Minato blinked a bit and shrunk a little in his seat. "Well, yes, but…" The Hunters blinked. Minato began to massage his temple. "I'm not so sure it'd be a smart idea."

As X asked why it dawned on Yukari. '_He's talking about_ _Thanatos! But that Persona's known to be…_''

Pausing for a moment, Yukari pondered if she should chip in, but threw caution to the wind anyway. "That Persona's known to be extremely dangerous. More than anything it's plain bloodthirsty; I wouldn't be comfortable with letting it out. There's no doubt in my mind that would be a big mistake."

Mitsuru nodded. "And given the fact that our enemy said that they were after that power, it would be safe to assume that they may have a way to track it. Arisato, that means no matter what the circumstances may bring, you shouldn't summon Thanatos."

"Yes, ma'am.", Minato nonchalantly replied, complete with full salute.

"So how are we gonna proceed? I mean, you brothers _did_ voice that we had to tread carefully here.", Junpei heaved, the thought clearly bothering the guy. And who could blame him?

"True.", Kurobane replied, almost sounding defeated. "This isn't the kind of thing we can just bring to the public's attention; there's too many red flags just thinking about it. And as for the info regarding the Dark Hour, well, it should only be told to a select group. If some scientists got curious and decided to experiment on the Dark Hour and Shadows, we'd risk something like 1999 all over again."

Mitsuru nodded abruptly. "I feel that is very important to consider. My grandfather, the man who started the project leading to all this, had not foreseen the tragic deaths and warping of reality he caused in his wake. And in a future where humans and machines can finally attain harmony, I'd be damned to let it happen again."

At that point, a man in a butler uniform with a golf-ball-like head of white hair and monocle on his left eye knocked and entered the room, wheeling in a fancy tea set and an assortment of petit pastries, like scones.

"Master Shikikata, I have fulfilled sending the information on the accounts to our clients and fashioned the report to send to Dr. Cain and city council as you requested. After learning that guests have arrived I prepared tea and pastries for you all."

"Oh. Shimanosuke, that was record time. The reports are done already?", Kurobane said with enthusiasm. Turning to the confused group, he explained that the brothers planned to forward certain information to Dr. Cain and the city council on what was already brought to light, but not as through as this conversation. The last thing needed was for too much info to be leaked.

"I trust your journey here was acceptable?", the butler asked aloud as he proceeded to pour the humans among S.E.E.S. tea. "It's a white orange blossom tea blended with cinnamon – a house blend. Please, try some."

Gently placing the first cup before Minato, his nose wrinkled as the heavenly scent made it to his consciousness. "It… smells really nice." The butler smiled. "I accented it with a hint of hibiscus mint for taste."

Sipping the brew, Minato's normally half-open eyes flew open. "It's… it's really good." Eyeing his cup, Junpei sipped next, displaying an expression that could only be that of him reaching a level of bliss. "Wow, that's good tea."

"Thank you. Blending original teas has always been a pastime of mine.", Shimanosuke beamed. Turning to Mitsuru, who already sipped, gently placed his cup into its plate. "It's a delightful brew. You must have put a lot of effort into it."

Shimanosuke placed a hand over his heart, bowing lightly. "To hear that from you, my lady, it is truly an honor."

"Mitsuru's fine.", the redheaded girl smiled.

"So you sent it?", Shikikata asked again. "All to your specifications, sir. Anything else I should take to?"

The current head shook his head softly. "You did well. We must cast one stone at a time." He looked over to the window behind his desk, as the blinds retracted and revealed the sunlight again. "But I do wonder…"

X and the others looked at him.

"What will be their next move?" "What ever it is… we'll be ready. We have to be.", X mustered the strength to say. Axl grinned. "Well, I guess this calls for some training."

Pausing for a moment, Akihiko nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good right about now. I think we should train, too. Y'know get back in the swing of things."

"With those people lurking around, I think that's the wisest thing I heard today.", Fuuka smiled. Yukari sighed. "Great. Back to fighting. On the other hand I guess we're used to it by now.", she said, ending with a grin.

"I ain't backing out either. I'm gonna kick some Scourge ass when they show up, you'll see!", Junpei beamed. Ken laughed. "Not before me, you won't."

"I shall not lose, either. I don't want you all to have all the fun.", Aegis smiled. Koromaru yipped happily, his tail wagging.

Mitsuru could only laugh a bit. "Then it's settled. Shikikata, X you don't think either party could help us train, could you?"

"We could show you our training facility. Just gotta make a call or two.", Kurobane grinned, punching his open hand. "It's been ages since we've sparred with someone."

X smiled. "Normally I'm not for humans getting in harm's way, but either way it looks like we'll need your help, so count us in." Axl grinned. "This is gonna be awesome!"

Minato looked at the scene before him and couldn't help but smile warmly. '_This is something I wouldn't trade for the world…_'

* * *

><p>Unknown Location, unknown time<p>

* * *

><p>"So… it begins…", the lilac-haired man mused to himself, sitting in a darkened room surrounded by the light of lit candles. "I can't wait till the pieces fall into place. Until then, we must ready ourselves. We mustn't disappoint."<p>

A candle went out. Eyeing the smoking wick, he grinned. "So. Lost has awakened. That was fast. That means we are one man stronger now."

The man looked up. "And another reckoning made to come from on high."

* * *

><p>And that's Chapter 9, folks (27 pages! 11000+ words!). This chapter alone is the longest piece of literature I've ever written, no joke. Things are starting to finally pick up the pace as the plot thickens.<p>

What will happen next? Well you'll have to keep reading to find out.


	10. Dice Rolling Rockers

Well, after a long grace period, Chapter 10 is up. And this time, this chapter was co-editied by my good friend _Nu Mou Sage_ (also known as _Letdragon_ on deviantART). Enjoy reading!

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Dice Rolling Rockers<p>

* * *

><p>Maverick Hunter HQ, Dr. Cain's Office, 12:35 PM<p>

* * *

><p>Dr. Cain read the message relayed from the Kirijo office for the second time, the elderly man running a hand through his beard. He reached for his cup of green tea and gently sipped, placing the cup on its coaster at his desk. He turned his head to stare at the window.<p>

By now it was high noon, the sun well over the horizon and releasing its warmth upon Abel with a decent forecast out; there was a spread of clouds, the forecast called for a nice day. He turned back to the email on his screen.

"I never imagined that this 'Dark Hour' could be the source of such phenomena. I can see why they're so wary."

Cain received a care package of online documents sent to his highly secured email that was, by their request, for his eyes only.

There were graphs, recordings of various forms of scientific activity and a few papers, and he was still recovering from the full gist of the message.

As he came to learn, the Dark Hour had the ability to fully displace the fabric of time and dimension within certain exposed areas that fit seamlessly into the normal stream of time that all conscious minds were experiencing.

According to this research, a heavily immersed '25th hour' existed precisely at midnight, but due to the distortions, a select few were able to experience it, and during this time, creatures made from discarded or rampant human ego and id named Shadows roamed the streets, albeit they had limitations.

There were some reports on them as well. They were indeed an interesting read, particularly how interlinked they were to Personas and the human mind in general. It briefly made him wonder if Reploids were capable of Personas or Shadows.

He started life as an archeologist that produced Reploidkind, so naturally he'd have to have knowledge of the human and Reploid mind. Considering Reploids were designed to think and feel like humans could, he wondered if a Reploid's ego and id could spawn a Shadow.

Then again, this was something entirely beyond his understanding, as this was, in the end, all Greek to him. There was still a part of him still taken aback by the possibility of magical monsters roaming the streets and an 'invisible hour' where certain humans had access to supernatural powers.

Cain pinched his nose. He was going at it all at once, and he still had another issue to deal with on these reports. "Now how am I going to tell the board and the council _this_ one?"

This issue was gonna take a while, and would require more tea. As he reached for the pot behind him, there was a knock on his door.

"Dr. Cain? It's me, as you requested." Cain knew that voice anywhere.

"Open," the elderly man replied.

The sliding automated door unlocking and opening, Storm Eagle – who was still 'humanized', as the consensus called it – walked in, his talon like feet treading on the carpeted floor, colored a dark blue to compliment the walls. His forehead-length yellow-dipped purple hair billowed ever so slightly in his step, deep blue eyes meeting the older human's stony onyx. "You wanted to see me?"

Cain nodded, a slight sound reverberating in his throat as if to affirm the question. "I just wanted a quick check-in with how you and the others affected by last night are fairing. It's been 12 hours, so perhaps more things would come to light at this point."

Eagle nodded. "I can tell. After some quick diagnostics, we've come to the conclusion that normal means of interface with Reploids don't work on myself nor the other four. We tried using a stasis pod and the computer aborted because we weren't purely Reploid. I'm sure Gate sent you a report, but it seems we five have become a strange fusion of human and Reploid; no doubt that this 'Dark Hour' has got to be the cause of it."

Cane twirled his beard. "Yes, I read the report he sent. It's very intriguing. For that reason I had scheduled for a few friends in the medical field to examine you all. An MRI and a few X-rays for starters."

"I see," Eagle replied, his neck craned slightly. A pause.

"Something on your mind, Eagle?" Cain asked. Eagle turned his head to face the window view of the city, the sunlight reflected in his eyes.

"It's… odd. I never noticed how the beautiful sky was."

Cain rose a brow. "The sky?"

"It's hard to explain…but I feel so strangely content to feel the breeze on my face. In my short time in this form, I feel this strange sense of clarity I normally wouldn't feel. The world seems so much…more."

Cain took a moment to absorb the information and noticed Eagle was flexing the wings on his back. "I always thought a human's sense of touch was a strange thing for Reploid's to understand, but somehow it feels right. The breeze, the sensation of my wings…I mean, do I sound crazy, Dr. Cain?"

The elderly man blinked and merely gave a smile. "There's nothing crazy about it, Eagle. That is a human's ability to feel alive. It's something all humans experience; Reploids too."

Eagle smiled softly. Then something popped into his head. "Oh, I almost forgot. I went to test a few things about this form in the training simulator."

Cain began to tap his desk, his brow dropping a bit, and low groan reverberating behind closed lips. "Eagle, you didn't do exactly what the experts said _not_ to do and exerted yourself, did you?"

Eagle's cheeks went a faint shade of rose. "I was… restless. Being unable to do anything made me a bit antsy. And truth be told, Armadillo had it worse." Cain groaned again.

"But we _did_ learn a few things that may be of interest. For example," Eagle held his right arm at a right angle in front of his head of purple and yellow hair, his forearm briefly glowing before turning into a buster. Suffice it to say, this caused the head of the Maverick Hunters to nearly choke on his sip of tea. "H-_how…_?!"

"It's weird. I just went through the same process I would normally do to access my buster. But I guess in this case, I 'willed' it, if I were to be so bold."

Cain placed a hand on his chin. "You _willed_ it…Interesting."

"I did try to use it, but I started feeling fatigue after two or three shots. My head was pounding for a minute."

"Head pounding…" Cain muttered. "Are you alright now?"

A moment of silence. "Yes. It was for a minute, but it slowly subsided. It did cause this strange urge to refuel, though. "

"R-refuel? You mean _eat_?" Cain gasped, flabbergasted. "But Reploids have no necessity nor ability to consume like humans do."

"Well, we know so little about this transformation. And word around the grapevine is that it happened to Flame Stag too, somehow."

"_What_?!" Cain yelled. Eagle winced at that for a second. "When was this?!"

"Roughly 20 minutes ago. I heard from Ostrich, who happened to walk in on it."

"…Where is he now?"

"Probably with Dawson. Him or Livesaver, maybe even Gate."

Cain reached for a screen-like phone console in his desktop. Pressing on of the many buttons on the pad, a –BEEP- was heard. "Dawson? Are you there?"

"_Speaking_," came a young mezzo alto voice. Cain looked at the screen; on it was a man in his mid 30's with a head of shaggy steely blue hair and low hanging, black square glasses over olive eyes, his skin colored like a lightly toasted almond. He wore a white lab coat draped over his shoulders, a white dress shirt and black pants underneath with rolled up sleeves and a lax black tie. The coat had a couple of ID's and tags on the left breast. He was a medical specialist that mainly looked after human staff at Hunter Base, but this was an interesting time.

Next to him, sitting on a stool was Flame Stag – or what he now looked like – arms crossed and thermometer in his mouth, a look of annoyance on his mug. The deer-based - whose new face came with a head of fat maple-orange locks burying brown deer ears atop his cranium - playing with the thermometer in his mouth out of frustration, leading Dawson to hit Stag on the forehead with two fingers, earning a grunt.

"_Don't play with that. I'm diagnosing you._"

"_Doc, it's just a thermometer._"

"_Don't play with it or it won't be accurate. THAT'S why I hit you." _

"–_sigh- Yes, __**mom**__…"_

Eagle chuckled into his fist while Cain bore a still face. "Have you learned anything?" he asked into the feed.

Dawson nodded. "A few things that Stag is experiencing is similar to what Eagle and the others are. He's shrunk roughly five inches and his build's become akin to a human model Reploid. What's more astounding is that we've collected a few samples and it's as you thought."

Cain's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Dawson nodded. "_The samples aren't quite the same, but those affected have shown signs of having human DNA. The hair samples are genuine, and their fluids are still being tested. However, we have reason to believe it's adopted traits of human blood_."

Eagle turned to the screen in surprise. "_There's more,_" Dawson continued. "_Watch this_."Out of nowhere, the steely blue-haired doctor lightly yanked Stag's left deer ear, earning a wince and a yelp from the Hunter.

"_What'd you do that for?!"_

"_He felt it. That means he registers touch and neural pain interface. Just like a human."_ Even Stag was surprised by that quote.

"_But I wasn't with the others when they changed. Why me? Why now_?"

Dawson was quiet. "_That I cannot begin to guess. Perhaps it was when you were in contact with Eagle earlier, but then again, a good number of Reploids were around. I doubt it's a contagion of some kind_."

"That, and according to testimony, Stag was conscious the whole time, and was seen by 6 other individuals before he was alone and… well, you know…", Cain added.

"_I was in the main hall outside the command center in A Block, minding my own business. Not to mention I had been seen a couple of times by different people before…_ _**this**__,_" Stag said with enthusiasm, pointing at his face.

"_True. That, and there's the consciousness issue. The others were offline when they changed form; Stag wasn't, apparently."_ Dawson said in a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "_Not that this isn't interesting, but Cain, you know I'm not a specialist. That, and I'm a doctor for __**humans;**__ why have me look at them?"_

"_Them?"_ Stag asked, the ears atop his head wrinkling as if by surprise. "_You mean you looked at Eagle and the rest?_"

"_I admit I'm curious about all this, but as I said, I'm a doctor in human physiology, not Reploids; no offense, but you guys are all Greek to me,_" the 30-or-so year old doctor shrugged.

Cain nodded through the feed. "I know, and I apologize for thrusting this upon you so suddenly. Truth is with all said and done I wanted a few opinions in different fields. This phenomena defies all forms of conventional science, not to mention there's apparently a hidden time-space plane meshed with our own that only so many can experience."

Cain inhaled and gruffly sighed. "Whether that is a blessing or a curse, however, I can only imagine. Let me know what you find out. Cain out." Dawson gave a two-fingered salute, and the transmission ended.

"That reminds me…" Eagle interjected. "I, um, noticed the open email. I take it has to do with everything that's happening?"

Cain's steely gray eyes locked with the former's deep blue. Without looking, Cain closed out of the email on the screen at his side. "In a sense. However, this has been labeled classified for the time being. Ironically, it was Mr. Kirijo's request, and after grazing through it, I can see why."

"What do you mean…?", Eagle asked, a bit concerned by the grave tone in the elderly man's voice.

"Some of this information is, in a word…disturbing." A pause; the air was still in the office.

"I've looked over a good number of graphs and readings the Kirijo Group was more than generous to let me see, and I'm quite convinced that this 'Dark Hour' is the real deal. They have yet to pinpoint how it directly correlates with you and the other Hunters who transformed into your… humanoid states, but I imagine it's merely a harbinger for what's to come."

"I… I see. What should we do? How should we proceed?" the 7th Unit leader asked steadily. Cain pinched his nose and grunted.

"For now I'm working on a way to present this to the council and board without instilling panic. And let me tell you, this won't be easy – reading all this nearly made my heart stop."

Eagle said nothing, absorbing the information. He had worked with the Hunters for a long time – before and after Sigma's Rebellion and becoming Maverick – and was fairly close to Cain as a subordinate. The avian Reploid knew when Cain made that kind of face, it was serious.

"Eagle, I need to ask you something."

"Anything, doctor."

"These creatures that are said to live in the Dark Hour… 'Shadows'… they are said to be suppressed human elements and emotions that deviated from control and attack humans into order to satiate a sense of emptiness. It doesn't sound that far off from being Maverick, does it?"

Eagle swallowed. Looking back, most Reploids who have gone Maverick were rebelling because they felt humans would always repress them or were inferior creatures. These feelings of anger and despair from inequality sparked the spread of the Viruses, which preyed upon these raw emotions. Eagle never met or seen a Shadow before, but he had to admit, with what he knew, there were some parallels.

"I suppose there's some sense in that." Eagle could only say that much. Cain nodded and dismissed the eagle hunter, returning to the matter at hand.

"How the hell will I be able to pull this one off…?"

* * *

><p>Abel City North Quadrant outskirts, Republic Highway Exit 53, at the same time<p>

* * *

><p>The large black limo Shimanosuke was driving, after about a good half hour drive up north from the city towards Iwatodai, entered a surprisingly forested area north of the city limits. With all the devastation of the Maverick Rebellions, forests that were undisturbed or untouched by technology or damage were a rarity in this time.<p>

A two minute interval later, they arrived at a quaint looking mansion. It was three stories tall and was painted a light shade of cream and white, with a sizable hedge garden and human statues lining the entryway past the gate.

As S.E.E.S., X and Axl marveled at the place, Mitsuru gaped a bit, recognizing it instantly. "This is the Kirijo family bunker house."

Shikikata grinned. "You got it. It's still in one piece. Over the last couple of decades, though, we did a little…refurbishing."

"Refurbishing?" Junpei asked. Shimanosuke pulled up to the ring of the house and pressed a button on his dashboard. Following a short rumbling sensation, the group, save for the twins, were shocked to see that the panel of pebbles the limo rested on was descending into the earth.

The walls were lined with steely metal and dim lights, where the opening was filled by a pair of closing doors acting as a false part of the driveway.

After about 20 seconds of gentle decent, the group reached a unbelievably large training facility of some kind, with a number of exercise machines, a full-sized pool, a boxing ring, a shooting and archery range, a computer lab with all sorts of strange machines, a sports bar and other surprises.

"How crap, this is awesome!" Axl shouted in disbelief. Kurobane grinned. "One of our training facilities, given the Kirijo treatment by yours truly, fit with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. No thanks are necessary."

"It's… wow." X said, finding himself speechless. "This is definitely different from the Hunters' training rooms."

"I'll say!" Axl jeered as jogged a bit to look at all the different areas. When he got to the entrance to the pool he whistled.

"This place is cool!" the younger Hunter smirked.

"Hey guys, check out this pool!" Junpei got over and adopted the same look as Axl. "Whoa-ho-_HO_! Nice!"

Akihiko walked over to the center of the giant room where a regulation sized boxing ring lay. Crawling into the ring, the silver-haired teen took a few steps, went into a stance and fired a few jabs. "Nice."

"Funny thing about that ring." Shikikta mused. "It can also double as a mixed martial arts ring." He walked over to a computer terminal next to the ring and typed a few commands. Akihiko noticed the outline of the ring started to glow blue.

"What's this?"

"This? Oh, just a special feature." Shikikata replied. "Everything in this room is outfitted with the best Persona-gauging technology. Try summoning your Persona."

Yukari blinked. "Seriously?" Kurobane turned his head to face the archer and nodded.

"Trust me; this will make the whole training thing easier."

Akihiko, after pausing for a moment, fished through his vest pocket and pulled his Evoker out. He looked again at Shikikata, who nodded as if to urge him. Akihiko exhaled. "Here goes something." He pointed the Evoker to his temple. "_CAESAR!_" Accompanied by the loud sound of breaking glass came the tall, imposing form of Akihiko's Persona. Carrying a globe in its left hand and a large sword in its right, the gigantic being towered well over the occupants of the underground structure, standing a couple yards taller than Shimanosuke, who was 77 inches tall.

Shikikata glanced at the screen on the terminal that blazed to life. His eyes widened at the reading he was viewing, causing his jaw to slack a bit.

A few seconds later Akihiko began to shake and swoon woozily, causing him to collapse on one leg and grasp his forehead. The next moment, Caesar vanished in a brilliant display of flickering light.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru called out, rushing into the ring and kneeling to his level arm over his shoulder. "Akihiko are you all right?"

Akihiko weakly glanced at Mitsuru, giving a wry grin. "I've been better. Just a bit dizzy."

"Doing that outside the Dark Hour does that. But we're big boys and girls – we'll bone up." Kurobane added as he too entered the ring and helped Mitsuru hoist Akihiko to his feet. "It takes practice to adjust use of Persona outside its greenhouse conditions."

"Quite," Shimanosuke said, adding his two cents. "I remember helping the young masters train when they were younger. It takes lots of practice to get the hang of it. I imagine it was the same for the Scourges."

"Well, can't say I'm not looking forward to it a bit." Akihiko chuckled. Minato sighed a bit in relief knowing his friend was just a bit winded. He then noticed the screen Shikikata was at. It was a radar chart.

On that chart was six stat parameters; clockwise from the top read Power, Clarity, Control, Stability, Synchronization and Stamina. Minato turned to Shikikata, brow raised.

"This is a gauge of our power I take it."

"Yep." the redhead replied in turn. "We've been working on a device that accurately gauges Personas for years now; this was only finished recently – only three of the finished product have been made."

Axl asked, having walked over, inspecting the graph. "According to this, Akihiko scored an 8. That's pretty high, right?"

Shikikata nodded. "For being outside the Dark Hour, it's pretty damn impressive. 9 in power and stamina, and 7.5 in everything else. That's an score of 8."

"That's pretty good." Kurobane remarked before giving a sly look to the boxer. "You're not taking steroids are you?"

"What, me? Never." Akihiko snorted as he shook off the grogginess and was able to stand on his own. "I believe in a sound mind and body."

"And it shows." X marveled. "You recovered quickly." The silver-haired teen chuckled.

"You'd have to in a match or you'd be down for the count."

"Speaking of count…" Shimanosuke chimed in. "Perhaps this is a perfect opportunity to gauge you all. By learning which areas you need training in, you could perform better in actual combat should the time come."

"I agree full-heartedly." Mitsuru responded, nodding sharply. "The best way to improve our skills is to know our shortcomings and to attack them head-on." A moment of silence. "So, any volunteers?"

Junpei chuckled. "Stand back, guys. I'm gonna show you what it's all about." He chuckled again as he crawled into the ring.

Minato rolled his eyes with a cheeky grin. "Looks like we have a volunteer."

"Thank you, you're too kind." Junpei said jokingly, hand waving as if there was an audience. "So, like, what do I do? Do I just summon my Persona and that's it? Your doohickey just works its magic?"

"If you're standing on the blue square zone where Akihiko was, yes." Kurobane replied. Junpei walked to the center of the ring and faced forward.

"Keep your feet firmly on the ground, knees bent a bit. Kinda like you're dribbling a basketball." Kurobane advised. "You can also pivot your waist a bit if you need to. Do you use your Evoker in your right or left hand?"

"Right hand," replied the Magician Arcana user. He proceeded to fish his Evoker from his coat pocket, twirling it around one finger like a cowboy. "Let me know when to go at it."

"Easy, _slick_," Shikikata joked. He typed a few commands on the keyboard. "You're on."

"_Trismegistus_!" Junpei called out as his fired into his temple with the special firearm. Instantly in a plume of blue mist-like flame the tall and ornate figure came into view, neck craning back and arms stretched out like a bird in flight; the wings connected to his wrists and ankles added to this look, not to mention the Persona's beak-like head.

The computer hummed to life and began calibrating. After a loud 'PING', the radar chart expanded to show 9 in power, clarity and stamina, but a 7 in the rest. "Huh. Also 8 flat. Looks like we need to work on you keeping your Persona out longer, and a shorter time between attacks. It also shows you're pretty good with fire magic. That's a good thing."

"Wait, _magic_?" Axl guffawed a bit. "You mean like levitation or sawing people in half?"

"Not that kind of magic. Elemental magic, like fire, ice, lightning and so forth. There's also healing and physical magic, but they're different stories."

"So it looks like I did pretty good. Alright, who's next?" Junpei asked aloud.

Ken grinned. "I'm not going to lose to either of you. I'm up next."

Jenpei grinned. "Alright, little man, you're up."

"I grew three inches last month!"

"Someone's been drinking their milk."

"Sh-shut up!" Ken shouted defensively.

* * *

><p>Outside, hidden among the trees<p>

* * *

><p>A lone figure sits perched on a large branch, his position skewed by the surrounding flora that covered his position. For the past 5 minutes he had been observing the grounds of the Kirijo estate. Upon better lighting it revealed to be Will, one the three humans from last night who attacked MHHQ in the early morn.<p>

"Wonder what they're doing here…", the shirtless maple-brunette in the blue trench coat pondered. Pulling a pair of binoculars from his white sash he peered around the grounds and into the windows of the estate.

_The lights are on, but nobody's home. Strange. They must be nearby._ Will noted the lack of a car in the driveway. Perhaps there was a garage nearby, but he sure as hell didn't see one. '_Maybe I should try another window_.'

Snaking among the trees without causing much ruckus, Will took a minute to reach another face of the mansion, which yielded the same result. "This is getting weird even for me. I _knew_ I saw a car head here."

His eyes narrowed. _And no signs of life in sight. I don't even see a place for the car. Unless..._

A pause. _I wonder if coming here was a good idea?_ He remembered a few hours ago when their leader assigned him to spy on the Kirijo brothers.

* * *

><p>Some time ago…<p>

* * *

><p>Will opened the door to the lilac-haired leader's personal quarters, as requested. And as it usually was, the lights were dim from the candlelight strewn all around the room, blocking most detail from being seen.<p>

"_I trust you rested well_?" he asked calmly and with a hint of serenity. Will nodded. "_That's good. I know this is sudden, but I have a job for you_. _Word is that the Kirijo brothers have stepped in_."

A 'che' escaped Will's breath as he ran a hand through the fringe of hair over his left eye. "_They certainly catch on fast, don't they_." The enigmatic leader shrugged. "_It can't be helped, considering the last twelve hours. Must be harder dealing with the media_," he quipped, as if making a light joke.

"_So what should I do exactly_?" Will asked, dark yellow eyes affixed to the leader's lilac. "_Should I assume to staying out of sight, or do you want another confrontation_?" The leader, who was standing originally, plopped a seat on his floor, legs crossed and hands bent over his shins, elbows out. He gave a wry smile.

"_I'd prefer you'd stay hidden. We don't need to make too much of a scene. Your Persona is most suitable of the choices to escape if needed._"

"_Why not have someone more suitable for the task do it? Sneaking in the shadows is hardly my forte._"

The leader signed ever so slightly. "_After some thought, I'd prefer our Hunter and S.E.E.S. friends knew as few identities of our group as possible. We don't want any loose ends. And of those they know, Jaguar and IV are unqualified for the job."_

Will nodded. "_That, and word is that Elly has been identified as the one who broke Lost out; __**that**__ was quicker than expected_."

"_True. But you're a sensory type; that's a clear advantage in your corner_."

"_Sensory skills hardly suffice as spying skills_."

The leader grinned. "_Oh, I beg to differ; they're not __**that**__ different._"

"…_Whatever you say, Miyabi_."

* * *

><p>Will gripped the tree he stood on, shaking off his memory of his orders. His eyes scanned the side of the mansion he was perched by, his left hand lifting the fringe of hair in the way. A 'che' escapes his lips. "There's no way to tell. I can't even sense anyone moving in the building. Are they even here?"<p>

Will shook his head. "No, I saw the limo come this way. Where could it-" He gasped. It just hit him; there was a chance the limo was concealed or even underground. It was a stretch but a family like the Kirijo clan having an underground facility wasn't too hard to imagine.

Will lightly hopped off the thick branch and landed on the ground with one knee on the ground. Fingertips planted on the grassy earth, he closed his eyes and slowed his breath. His hand began to glow and release a slight wave of energy into the earth.

Little did he know this would end up being a huge mistake.

As Ken's results for his gauging concluded, a low alarm hummed in the large room. Everyone in the room was surprised to say the least.

"What's that noise?" Junpei asked aloud, fixing his cap. Shimanosuke raced to a console and gasped lightly. "It would seem we have an intruder. Someone's triggered the motion sensors."

"You think it's one of them?" Shikikata asked over the alarm. The butler craned his neck to face him. "It would seem logical, as there's a positive Egoism reading of 2.2 above ground." The twins' eyes shrank in surprise.

"Egoism?" Mitsuru asked.

"It's the coined term for energy waves pertaining to Personas and Shadows; it was around just after your time." answered Kurobane. "We got a visual?"

"Working on it." the Kirijo butler replied. He typed frantically with quick keystrokes as various camera displays flickered back and forth. It wasn't until a camera display of the western side of the mansion came into view that Axl gasped.

"That's one of the guys from last night!" Indeed, he could be seen still in his sensing trance.

"What's he doing?" X pondered. Fuuka gave a slight change of expression.

"You don't think he's trying to sense for us, do you?"

"He must have followed us here." Mitsuru surmised.

"He doesn't rub me as the sensing type if you ask me." Junpei admitted out of the blue. "Though I admit I could be wrong."

"You think we should confront the guy?" Axl asked. X nodded.

"We could try capturing him."

"Problem is, we have to be able to catch him off guard first." Kurobane cut in. "And if he's a sensor type, that'd be hard to do."

"…I got an idea." Yukari admitted aloud. Everyone turned to her.

"Yukari?" Mitsuru asked aloud.

"What if we surprised him from two sides? Even better, if he knows we're underground, we could use the limo as a diversion."

"Like a pincer?" X asked. Minato blinked for a moment before thinking about it.

"Y'know… that just might work."

"I'm game," Shikikata mused. "There's a lift that takes us to the ground floor on the mansion over there. That will make things easier."

"I'll prepare the car then." Shimanosuke said nodding. "Perhaps some of you should come with me, for better effect."

"I call shotgun." Junpei announced gingerly.

* * *

><p>Another 'che' escaped Will's mouth as he ceased his technique. "Well crap. They <em>are<em> underground. Deep underground at that." His head hung loosely as he huffed. "Now what?"

It was at that moment he heard something. It started faint, but slowly got louder. It was coming from the courtyard. Instinctively he rushed to hide from sight among the forest of trees. Will watched as the pebbled earth depressed and slid to reveal steel doors that opened, allowing the Kirijo limo to raise to ground level.

"Well, I'll be damned. These rich people these days…"

As the loud whirring of the mechanism filled his ears, he failed to hear the faint sound of an Evoker going off, but immediately felt a drastic chill. He noticed that his boots were quickly being swallowed by a layer of jagged ice, which alarmed him somewhat. "Wh-what the?!"

His head darted towards the source of the attack, seeing Mitsuru had just summoned Artemisia. She winced a bit from the drawback, but maintained her stance. Standing beside her were Minato, Yukari, Aegis, Kurobane, Akihiko and X.

After the limo made it to the ground surface, it parked in such a way that the side doors faced the group and blocked off a chunk of the driveway. The doors opened, revealing Shikikata, Junpei, Ken, Koromaru, Fuuka and Axl, who had his handguns loaded with special non-lethal Taser bullets. Should Will try anything funny, he had a pretty clear shot of Will. That, and Shikikata's personal Evoker, which was standard in design, was in his right hand, finger firmly placed over the trigger.

The same could be said of Kurobane and Minato, who were, after some thought, more adapt to handling summoning their Persona outside the Dark Hour – this being a given for Minato due to his Wild Card ability and having more stamina for it despite his unseemly build. X also had his buster ready, but lowered and set to a lower power outlet; he _really_ didn't want to have to harm a human, despite the gravity of the man in question.

"Raise your hands above your head and surrender. You can't win this." X said in a very calm manner. Will's single eye merely gazed at him with an uncaring look.

"And if I refuse?" A notching noise was heard. It was Shikikata's Evoker, threatening to trigger at any second.

"By all means," he said slowly. "Give me an excuse."

Will cursed silently. Slowly, his hands – which were at his hips, slowly rose in front. As he did his eyed both groups to either side of him, as if waiting for something. All eyes were on him. X was getting anxious. Axl's trigger finger was getting itchy. Junpei and Akihiko were getting antsy, Aegis' weapons systems in her hands silently whirring.

You could hear a pin drop. A light breeze slowly got stronger from the southwest, blowing over the canopy of trees behind Will; leaves began to splinter from the trees and rift in the air.

Without warning, by the time Will's right hand reached just above his shoulder, he swiftly grabbed the hilt of his giant ebon blade and tugged hard. Axl grunted and took his chance – he had a clear shot of Will's neck or exposed pectorals, even with the tall collar of his blue trench coat, sash and belt obscuring the flesh. Likewise, X unleashed the low-power buster shot at Will's hand, hoping to intercept his attempt at grabbing the hilt of his blade.

What they didn't count on was for Will to lean about twenty degrees backward in the instant they fired, causing both shots to miss. Taking advantage of the miniscule window he had, he pulled the black blade from its latch on his back and thrust the blade into the ice at his feet like an ice pick.

With the right application of force, the ice crackled apart as Will freed himself, immediately proceeding to jumping backwards onto a large tree branch behind him and, with expert precision kicked off the branch at a high angle with enough force to jump the two-story gap and land almost seamlessly onto the rooftop, where he darted off.

"What the hell?!" Junpei found himself blurting out. Wasting no time, X ran towards the house's wall, proceeding to ascend it via a wall jump, with Axl close behind on the front side of the house.

"I'll try to cut him off!" he yelled.

Will was seriously cursing his luck. They were able to find him wit such fluid timing and caught him off guard. If it hadn't been for some quick thinking, he could have been caught; tranquilized and unable to fight back as they would probably take him in for questioning – like hell he'd let that happen.

He made it roughly a third across the roof's length by the time X got onto the shingled surface. Hearing Axl coming up the wall at eleven o'clock, he readied his blade for a swing.

Axl barely dodged getting his head and arm lopped off as he came in Will's range, falling backwards and grabbing the scaffolding with his fingertips to prevent falling all the way to the ground. "Damn it, that was close…!"

Will cursed as he saw X in hot pursuit behind him. He had to get rid of him. _This goes against my principles, but… _In mid-step Will jumped a bit and made a swift clockwise turn in place, rearing his sword over his left shoulder. "Garula." From the swing of his blade, a sudden gush of green winds rocketed towards X, who met the gale head-on with no warning, knocking the Hunter off his feet and onto his butt, crushing a few shingles in the process.

Axl saw his chance as Will completed the turn. Pulling hard with his right hand, he fired a single shot in Will's direction. Will effortlessly swerved to dodge the bullet, but didn't count on his footing slipping a bit as he neared the ending edge of the scaffolding. "Sh-shit!" he yelped.

Almost clumsily, he fell off the rooftop, but not before grabbing the shingled edge out of instinct. The shingles cracked and broke, leading Will to fall a good story and a half before he tried dodging a large branch that would crush his loins if he fell on it, only to smash the back of his head into the pearl-colored wall of the house of the house with a sharp THWACK. X and Axl panicked for a second as they neared the edge, seeing Will sprawled over the grass near the wall of the mansion face down, his dropped sword lying off angle beside him.

"Oh boy. I think I made a boo-boo." Axl gulped. X descended the side of the house just in time to hear Will groan. It was a moment, but Will was still conscious, even from that fall. It didn't last however, as a second later slipped into unconsciousness. Z took the opportunity to check if he was injured while also restraining him – this was a boon for his side they couldn't afford to lose.

X sighed in relief after seeing no indications of fracture, bruising or puncture. "He's a tough one."

"And even tougher if he can get away." came Shikikata's voice from around the corner. It seemed he and a couple of the others gave chase as well.

"Is he…?" Yukari asked.

"No. Sensors indicate he's alive, but unconscious. That was quite a fall." Aegis chimed in.

"No kiddin'. Three stories," Junpei guffawed, adjusting his cap. "I'd be surprised if he didn't get an injury from that fall."

"Actually, it looks like he's pretty intact; so far, I see no broken bones or anything." X commented, causing the Magician Arcana user to drop his jaw.

"_Seriously_? Man, these Scourges must be made of some serious stuff!" At that point, Axl finished sliding off the house wall.

"Yeah, no kidding. That burst of wind caught me by surprise. At least I think it was wind; he said 'Garula' I think."

"Garula?" Yukari asked, as if to confirm. Fuuka entered a pondering position.

"That means he's a wind user. Now that we're closer to him, it seems he's a Hierophant user."

"Hiero-_what_?" Axl asked aloud.

Kurobane turned to Axl. "Persona users are categorized by the Major Arcana from Tarot. Some Arcana represent different affinities to certain elements, or ability to use certain skills," he grunted. "Which would mean he's able to use multiple elements, seeing that he's apparently a Hierophant. That's always fun." Kurobane concluded dryly.

"Ironically, we're both Hierophant users as well." Shikikata added. "If anything else, we're perfectly capable of restraining him if need be."

"Speaking of, I think I'm going to call for some transport. I think we all got some questions for this guy we need answers to." said X, getting off his single knee. "Like what Scourges are planning and what they are after, for starters."

"There's also the Rouken breakout; I'm sure these guys are connected." Axl chimed in. "But how are we gonna secure this guy? I'm pretty sure he could take us out no problem if he woke up."

"Unlikeliness from that fall aside, I agree." admitted Mitsuru. "Should anything cause him to awaken, his first order of business would be to escape, and perhaps deal with anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby."

"I believe I have something to remedy the situation." Everyone turned to see Shimanosuke, who was holding two pairs of what appeared to be thick handcuffs. One pair was twice as thick as standard handcuffs, while the second pair was thrice as thick as big as the first pair – it seemed to be meant for legs. They were a light chrome color with a central blue stripe along each cuff.

"Handcuffs?" Ken asked, blinking. Koromaru yipped once, as if confused. Shikikata grinned.

"You always think on your feet, don't you?"

The family butler smiled. "Of course. These cuffs were originally meant to be used as limiters for Persona training. But by changing the functions slightly, they can effectively be used as sealing devices that will cease all Egoism function in the wearer's body. They administer minuscule electromagnetic feedback through the arms and legs that blocks the brain signal that enable Persona and other similar abilities."

"That's _awesome_!" Junpei gaped. Even Minato was impressed.

"That's certainly helpful," he admitted. "Must've taken a long time to perfect."

"Technically, they're still prototypes. But it's better than nothing." Shikikata mused. "Alright; who wants to bejewel Sleeping Beauty here?"

As the group proceeded to bind Will's sleeping form, X called for some pickup at Hunter HQ. By the time Alia finished digesting the information on the other end, she was sprawling for Dr. Cain to pick up, while Palette arranged for some backup to head out as soon as possible to collect their "bounty", as he would certainly be of interest with Cain getting ready to explain this messy situation to the proper bodies.

Not even twenty minutes later, said escort arrived by landing in the courtyard gently and fitting square on the pebbled road like a Tetris piece. To X's surprise, Magna Centipede was heading the escort, accompanied by a few grunts.

"If he tries anything, I got him." the reserved four-armed member of the 0th Unit said encouragingly. "Trust me, I've bee through worse, catch my drift."

X chuckled nervously at that. "By the way, do you know anything going on about the Rouken investigation?"

"Yeah. Really weird stuff. They say they got an ID on a girl who's been dead for a few years. Maybe our friend here knows something," Centipede said with mild interest.

"Kuro, you stay with Shimanosuke and check if he's done anything to the house. There's bound to be something with these guys involved." Shikikata said suggestively to his brother. The younger twin smirked.

"Why? You gonna hog the fun for yourself?"

"You mess with Kirijo, you get the horns. These Scourges are going to learn that the hard way," the elder twin said, cracking his knuckles.

Mitsuru huffed elegantly. "Don't get too worked up. If you're going to be on behalf of Kirijo, you've got to act the part."

The current head grinned. "Ancestral advice, doesn't get better than this."

"I'll stay and help Kurobane-san search." Fuuka added meekly. "I'd be more useful this way."

"I'll stay and help too," Yukari quipped "Doing nothing for so long's making me antsy."

"If Yuka-tan and Fuuka-tan are staying, so will I." Junpei added. "I'll be the backup."

Minato gave a wry look. "Don't get any big ideas." Junpei gave a hurt look. As the group shared a chuckle and readied to depart, Minato felt a strange chill. He looked at the eastern end of the courtyard, swearing for the briefest moment that he saw something move in the trees.

"You okay, Minato?" Akihiko asked as he got onto the transport.

Minato blinked. "O-oh. Nothing." Having the last of the group on board and the precious cargo in tow, the transport headed off to Hunter HQ, where Will's fate was to be decided.

* * *

><p>Unknown location, unknown time<p>

* * *

><p>On the rooftops of Abel City, a lone, short figure shrouded in white cloth observed the city below. A lone gray eye caught a Maverick Hunters transport unit heading past him some distance away.<p>

It sighed. "So it's true." He reached into his cloak, which was secured by several long iron structures wrapped around the main body and shoulders and pulled out a phone-like instrument. He pressed a couple of buttons and a dial tone enacted.

"… _Lou Fa speaking_."

"It's me. We got a problem. Will was caught; he's being brought over to Hunter HQ as we speak."

"_I just learned that. So you want me to have a little fun with their systems?_"

"Not quite yet. These guys aren't stupid. We to time this right."

"_So now we play the waiting game, huh? That's kinda boring. I was hoping for some action._"

"…Oh believe me, there'll be **plenty** of action soon enough."

The figure eyed the transport as it shrank in the distance. "We're gonna have a _lot_ of fun, at the Hunters' expense." The voice on the other end of the line cackled madly.

* * *

><p>And with that, that's Chapter 10. Be sure to review when you get the chance – I love reviews. Also, be sure to check out <em>Nu Mou Sage<em>'s page on Fanfiction, along with his work on DeviantART as _Letdragon_.

Peace, fellow readers!


	11. Sounds of Silence

Chapter 11: Sounds of Silence

* * *

><p>Abel City East Side, Block 18 East, Shikoku Temple 1:28 PM<p>

* * *

><p>It didn't seem like it, but Magma Dragoon was very into the concept of prayer and meditation. Since before the Sigma Rebellions, Dragoon was always enamored by the Buddhist and Shinto faiths, and the idealism of spirituality those who practiced it had.<p>

He had read books dating back a couple centuries that he collected over the months in service and finally was able to find a temple in practice at the northeastern end of the city territory, where he had meditated once a week for many months, up to the time Sigma coerced him to betray the Maverick Hunters.

What shocked him was that Bonzu, the elderly monk who headed the temple, forgave him for his deeds. His forgiving nature nearly convinced that even after all he had done, he was granted forgiveness by the Buddha himself. It nearly brought the commander of the 14th Grappler Unit to tears.

In all of his time, Bonzu was one of the few people – human or Reploid – to truly understand him, and always felt indebted to him for being a true friend. As he arrived in his Ride Chaser and dismounted, he climbed the stone stairs to the temple proper, where he was met with a young girl in her late teens with braided brown hair slung over her left shoulder wearing a plain light red kimono. As she stopped sweeping the stone walkway into the temple to greet the draconic Hunter, her green eyes gave a cheery expression.

"Mr. Dragoon! It's so good to see you again." She said cheerfully, giving a light bow.

Dragoon chuckled, returning the gesture. "Hey, Saori. How are things?"

"Oh, it's been fine. I'll be starting another college term at the university next week. Mother, father and Shuta are all doing fine."

Dragoon smiled. "And the old man?"

Saori cocked her head. "Same old grandfather. He'll be delighted to see you. You're here to meditate, I take it?"

"Y-yeah. I was hoping to meditate on my break, as the office tends to be a bit noisy."

Saori gave Dragoon an odd look. "Are you okay? You seem shaken."

Dragoon was surprised for a moment. Then again, he remembered that Saori was always good at reading others like a book, even if they had no face like some Reploids did. It was one of the reasons why Dragoon never could beat her in shogi.

"Some…things have come up. I came to take the edge off." A moment of silence followed.

"Dragoon," Saori droned, "if there's something eating at you, you could always talk to me." Dragoon couldn't help but smile. Saori was always kind like that. She huffed a tiny sigh and placed the broomstick on the stair rail to the side. "Well, I'll just prepare the room; Grandpa must've set the offerings by now."

It was a short two-minute walk to get there, having gone through a couple of walkways inside the temple and into a secluded area by the koi pond in the back of the complex that had plenty of flora and a calming lake with a stream. Opening the sliding screen doors, Dragoon was welcomed into a dim room with plenty of incense filling the air.

Seen adjusting the offerings and regalia on the altar was Bonzu, Saori's grandfather. He stood shy of five and a half feet and wore a dark blue monk uniform over a lighter blue kimono, and short, wily gray hair and had a thin mustache with thick flower petal-shaped eyebrows. His hazel eyes were bespectacled by a pair of circle-framed eyeglasses.

He lit up upon seeing Dragoon. "Ah, Dragoon! It's been some time, my friend." Dragoon chucked.

"Yeah, it suppose it has. I hope you don't mind, but I'm hoping to pray."

Bonzu gave a concerned expression. "You're not in trouble are you? Nothing nefarious I hope."

Dragoon shook his hands wildly as if surprised. "N-no! Nothing like…like that…I just needed to sort some things out. I needed some spiritual guidance."

Bonzu softened into a slight smile. "Well, the room's just about finished, so I'll just leave you to it."

"Thanks." Dragoon said softly. After Bonzu and Saori left the room and slowly closed the door, Dragoon sat in front the altar with the regalia and flowers and entered a meditative position, legs crossed and hands planted on his shins, and closed his green eyes.

Dragoon felt like this was the place he needed to be to sort out his feelings. Ever since last night things have been a bit crazy. But what really ate at him was one of those Scourges…

The one named IV. Ever since he announced he was a survivor of the Sky Lagoon – a colony he was led into destroying after manipulation from Sigma – Dragoon had been experiencing a maelstrom of conflicting emotions, and just didn't know what to do.

Duty aside to stop IV's group from attaining their goals – whatever they may be and entail – Dragoon couldn't help but feel a small pang of joy that _someone_ – anyone – was able to survive his horrible crime. It was like the pain the 14th Unit commander had on his soul was healed, even for a brief moment. However at the same time his heart sank as that same survivor wanted Dragoon dead for what he had done. After all, if IV _was_ a survivor of the Sky Lagoon, it didn't surprise him that the human hated him so. So much so that he sparked a change in his being – one that those humans from S.E.E.S. called a "Persona". He remembered vaguely what they had said at the meeting a couple of hours ago.

_A great emotional trauma…_ Those words rang in his mind. He could not begin to fathom the horrors that boy saw and experienced that terrible day. One of the many victims of the staged Repliforce coup, and one who lived from a space colony crashing to the earth. To see so much death at such a young age…for his loved ones, friends and everyone he knew to die in an instant…

Dragoon felt a great chill crawl up his spine just thinking about it. Deep down he knew it was entirely his fault. No matter how much counseling he had over the subject or cheering up he got from Dr. Cain, X, Zero and so many others he could still feel the inky black darkness grip at his heart like a sharp vice.

_What should I do…? Has the time come…to be judged?_ After gaining a sense of spirituality, Dragoon became a bit sensitive to the concept of Heaven and Hell. For all it was going to get him, he felt deep down no matter what form of atonement he carried out, Yama had already passed a verdict on him. Still, Dragoon felt strangely compelled to confront his demons – to confront IV.

Dragoon felt that somehow if he were to face IV, it would give him some form of being able to accept what had happened and move on. Even if… if that meant laying down his life to IV as atonement.

Sure that sounded like poetic justice, but there was also X's words he said to him once. _You should live on for their sake._ There were also so many of his comrades he'd let down if he took the atoner's path like that.

Guilt mercilessly tugged at Dragoon on both sides. On one side was the need to make things right from the sake of his soul. On the other was his sworn duty to uphold the peace between humans and Reploids many have sacrificed so much for, something he also knew he wanted to honor. At the very least, he wanted the generations after him to be able to live in peace, even if he couldn't be a part of it.

Dragoon firmly clasped his hands tightly on his shins, shaking slightly. _What do I do…? Which path should I take? I… I need a sign…!_ He could feel his jaw clench, his teeth scraping against each other from the sheer thought.

He stopped himself in mid-thought and inhaled, then slowly exhaled. Truthfully such a thing was unnecessary for Dragoon, but he found it an easy way to calm himself. The early practitioners of yoga were on to something there.

Slowly, Dragoon's green optics opened and caught a glimpse of the bronze reclining Buddha statue lying in the center of the altar, in between a pair of incense sticks. He could see a visage of IV from behind, looking over his right shoulder back at Dragoon. He could see his cross-shaped scar on his cheek, as if it were as fresh as the day he got it. He could visualize the sheer anger and despair he must have been feeling at the hands of the dragon Reploid's sin.

Dragoon's fists tightened again. This was the first time in a long time where he had felt so tense, so…ragged. One could argue the leader of the 14th Unit was starting to obsess over it, and they'd be right – it wasn't in Dragoon's nature to turn a blind eye to a problem. It was the same kind of stubbornness that led to him sinking the Sky Lagoon in the first place, and thinking about it made the gaping hole in Dragoon's belly all the more raw.

It was at that moment that a light tap came from the screen door. "I'm coming in," came Bonzu's mellow voice. Indeed, the old monk slowly slid the door open, his gaze stenciled with a strange look of empathy. "I take it something's eating at you. Would you like to talk about it?"

Dragoon could only blink, followed by a nervous chuckle. "It's that obvious, huh?"

This time, Bonzu chuckled, closing the screen door behind him. "You were always an expressive one, even for a Reploid. I suppose that's a good thing, in its own right."

Bonzu walked over and sat on his knees beside Dragoon, eyeing the altar. "You seem torn about something. I can tell by the far-off look in your eyes."

Dragoon smiled wryly. "As sharp as ever, I see."

"With age comes wisdom, my friend. Wisdom is a special thing, really; it guides the young and nurtures the eager. It can even save a man's soul from the deepest depths." Bonzu grinned.

"But it's far from perfect; wisdom is like an artistic craft – you can't improve it or broaden it without making mistakes. And I'll have you know I've made plenty in my day." Dragoon chuckled softly.

"I guess I can really use some of that right now." "So what's on your mind, my friend?", the monk asked. Dragoon inhaled and exhaled.

"Well, it was about something last night. You may have heard about it in the news by now."

"You mean the breach at the Hunter Base? I hear it caused quite a ruckus last night for your neighbors."

"Yeah well, see, among them…was a young man. He said something that…quite frankly, I don't know how to deal with it."

Bonzu's brow rose. "Oh really? What did he say?"

Outside the closed room, Saori was sweeping the hallway and started hearing the conversation. She quietly pressed he ear to the door, careful not to alert the room's occupants.

Dragoon clenched his hand. "You remember…what I did…with the Sky Lagoon?"

Bonzu nodded curtly. "I remember. It was the reason you started coming here. Do you still feel haunted?"

"I always feel haunted." the red dragon replied. "But this time is different. The young man I met…he said that we was a…"

Bonzu leaned in slightly. "He was a…?"

Dragoon looked into the candlelight. "He said he was a survivor of the Sky Lagoon crash."

Outside, Saori gasped, hand to her mouth, almost dropping her broom. Inside, Bonzu looked stunned, bewildered eyes trailing to the altar. "Well. _That's_ quite a surprise."

Silence. The next few seconds you could hear a pin drop. You could even hear the incense burning. Bonzu craned his head towards Dragoon.

"Is it certain? For someone to have survived… it would be nothing short of a miracle." Bonzu breathed. Dragoon's eyes suddenly looked sad. "I know, and to be honest, I honestly hope it's true."

Bonzu could understand, and from outside, so could Saori, who looked like she was about to tear up. Dragoon had been a slave to his demons for a long time and never once after coming back from the brink gave himself a break for the horrible deed he committed. But if someone truly survived…by some miracle was still alive from that horrible crash…

A tear dripped down Saori's cheek. Meanwhile, Dragoon continued. "The incident was roughly 8 years ago…he had to have been a preteen when it happened. And all he got off with must have been his scar."

"A scar?" Bonzu asked.

Dragoon traced an upside-down cross over his right eye. "Like this. It was the only one I saw, though."

The monk hummed a bit. "So…what do you plan to do? When you see him again, I mean…"

Dragoon craned his neck a bit. "I'm…I'm not sure. I mean…after what he stands for…" Bonzu raised a brow at this. Dragoon heaved a sigh. "It's kind of classified at this moment, but long story short, he's the polar opposite of a Maverick." The shaven monk's eyelids widened at that.

"You mean…?"

"Yeah, and truthfully, I'm a bit…_scared_. I know that I should be grateful that someone survived, but at the same time…" Bonzu smiled softly and placed a hand on the taller figure's shoulder guard.

"People will always face hardships. Reploids have it no differently. What makes either one stronger is the conviction to face it head on and move forward. I don't know what the full story is, but I'm sure somewhere down the road, you will find your answer."

Dragoon smiled warmly at the comment. True, Bonzu wasn't privy to the _full_ story – and Dragoon didn't think too highly of that right now – but he wasn't the head monk for so long for nothing.

"I just hope that answer will be the right one." Outside the room, Saori smiled tenderly and picked up her broom, returning to sweep the hallway.

* * *

><p>Maverick Hunter HQ, West Wing 5th Floor: Questioning Room Lobby, 1:42 PM<p>

* * *

><p>Minato was quietly sipping on a cup of water from the cooler next to the slab of a couch he, Ken, Koromaru and Axl were sitting on. Playing the events of the last half-day or so in his head, he began postulating a few questions to himself.<p>

The Wild Card could understand to a point that due to the Maverick Wars, there were bound to be victims, living or dead. That's what the Scourges seemed to be in essence, thanks to their "confession". What he couldn't stop getting fixated on was a two-pronged problem.

One – how these individuals attained Personas in the first place, much less be able to use them, without an environment like the Dark Hour to stabilize them. Then again, he was able to summon Orpheus easily, as did Akihiko and Junpei at the Kirijo mansion, so that point was already one foot out the door.

Two – How these guys knew about Nyx and the Dark Hour. With the exception of Strega spreading word of Nyx through the Internet – which was seemingly negated after Nyx was sealed – anything pertaining to the trail mix that was Persona and Shadows was only know to a handful of people. And least, as far as he knew…

_Did someone get a hand on information linked to all this?_ Minato pondered, putting a closed hand to his mouth. _If that's the case, who could have been able to? They'd have to be someone with access to or knowledge of Kirijo data, since Mitsuru's family might be the only source for it in our time_. Minato then bit his finger lightly. _No, it's been 200 years by now. Chances are the data may have been duplicated by now, probably given to people the Kirijo Group at the time could trust. Shikikata __**did**__ say people did experiments in the past, and I doubt one man could do the job, so…_ Minato began to massage his temple vigorously, which Ken took notice of.

"I think we're all trying to piece this together, senpai." The youngest member of S.E.E.S. confided in the blunette, gently stroking Koromaru's neck; the Shiba pup whined a bit. "There's not need to shoulder any burden here."

"Amada's right, Arisato." Mitsuru said casually. "We're a team. And we have the Hunters to help us out."

"There will be time to butt heads later. For now, all we can do is wait." Akihiko quipped, dusting his knuckles.

Minato smiled a bit. "Just trying to make sense of it all, that's all. Can't really blame me if what they've been saying is true."

Axl kicked one leg over the other and leaned into the couch with his arms behind his head. "Well, I'm pretty sure we _all_ want a few answers. Who these guys are and what they're after, for one."

"I'm pretty sure they said they were after Minato." Aegis said sullenly, with one arm gripping her other. "It only makes sense if they're really after Nyx."

"Perhaps you should start from the beginning." X replied, turning towards the anti-Shadow unit. "What exactly _is_ Nyx?" Aegis stumbled to answer.

"Truthfully, there is no clear-cut answer to that question, X." Mitsuru said, her neck craned. "We knew Nyx was the mother of all Shadows, but there's far more to that story."

"Like?" Axl asked aloud. Minato turned to the younger Hunter.

"Like how Nyx was a god of death and we were only able to fight its avatar. And _that_ was…"

Akihiko huffed. "Right. Ryoji. That was fun." He concluded dryly. X and Axl gave each other confused looks.

"After defeating the 12 Shadows that appeared during full moons – which were all pieces of Nyx that reunited with each other – their core formed an avatar in the guise of a human. His name was Ryoji Mochizuki, who was, in essence, an avatar of Nyx."

"And before then, he was a little boy who would come to me in the middle of the night named Pharos." Minato added. "Their personalities were different, though."

"How so?" X asked.

"Pharos was fairly reserved and philosophical when he showed up, and always had an off smile. While Ryoji, well…"

Aegis huffed. "He was always trying to impress me, not to mention he was hitting on Yukari-san a bit." X blinked at this. Aegis's expression mellowed a bit.

"However, he was…someone who valued life, even as the embodiment of death. He offered us a chance to kill him, which would erase all memories of the Dark Hour and anything attached to it, so that we could live in peace before the Fall – the end of the human life."

Mitsuru nodded. "Naturally, we didn't take it. We chose to face Nyx before the Fall could happen. And so we did." It was then Axl sat up.

"Whoa, whoa, _wait_. Wasn't Nyx, like, a god or something? How'd you manage that?" he asked incredulously, which seemed weird because X saw he had one of his smiles saying he was interested.

"It's…a long story. One I'd rather not relive right now." Minato said flatly. Axl leaned in on Minato, who was taken aback by the action.

"Aw, c'mon Minato. Don't be such a party pooper!" he said with his cheeky grin. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Trust me." Minato said in deadpan tone. "I don't think you'd be grinning like that if you knew the whole story."

Axl returned to his original seat, arms crossed and pouting slightly. "Tch. You're mean."

"And _you're_ nosy." Minato quipped. "Honestly, you and Junpei are likely cut from the same cloth."

Axl gawked, turning to X and motioned for some moral backup in his "time of need". X merely formed an X with his forearms and shook his head.

"D-don't look at me, Axl. You brought that on yourself."

Axl pouted, muttering "Stingy" under his breath.

Mitsuru, brushing off the antics before her, stared at the one-way window into the adjacent room.

It was a room similar to an interrogation rooms found in most police establishments, with a one-way window, a couple of cameras in the corners, some lighting and a table with two chairs. Will was secured into one of them, with his ankles cuffed to the chair and his wrists cuffed through a metal protrusion in the table. The arm cuffs were fair in length so he _could_ move his arms a bit.

That is, once he was conscious. They did all that while Will was still recovering from that blow to his head from falling off the Kirijo's roof.

Of course, his head was bandaged a bit, as the Hunters wouldn't _dare_ challenge the moral standards of interrogating someone who was injured (especially a human). But while they had the opportunity, the medics in the building took the liberty of obtaining a blood and DNA sample from him for identification purposes.

Turns out he was Will River, a young college student with no known family from Great Britain who vanished shortly after the Dopplertown incident. By now he was 27, and _really_ let his hair grow out – his profile portrayed him with much shorter hair that didn't veil half his face.

Inside the room were three occupants other than "Sleeping Beauty": Zero, Shikikata and Magna Centipede. Shikikata sat in the chair opposite Will, hands folded and elbow on the steely table, Zero leaning against the adjacent wall near the door and Centipede behind Will.

Now this measure was only in the event Will tried anything. Of course, Shikikata claimed that the cuffs Shimanosuke provided inhibited Persona users from tapping into their skills, but Zero encouraged some…extra precaution, as he didn't fully feel comfortable without some extra eyes and hands in this situation.

Still the concept of humans having supernatural powers, Zero was still wrapping his mind around that one. But Shikikata was insistent on keeping those handcuffs on Will, saying it was the best option of keeping Will restrained.

Zero relented, but insisted on some extra manpower to keep Will from trying anything. Hence, why Centipede was there. If anything happened, the trained shinobi Hunter would keep the human restrained with non-lethal force.

"You sure we shouldn't wake him up?" Zero inquired. "I don't feel comfortable watching him catch up on beauty sleep."

"You honestly expect a human to be coherent after a three-story fall and hit to the head? I'm surprised he didn't sustain anything other than light bruising." The current Kirijo head countered. "He's gonna be sore from them and a headache, so rushing it might aggravate the situation."

Zero sighed haughtily. "I still don't like this. If these guys are the real deal, I say that we squeeze him for information soon. There's a bunch of people and Reploids dead from the Rouken incident, and we need to find their killer."

"Not to mention the possibility of the scoundrel taking a prisoner with them." Centipede added. "The idea of a young girl single-handedly slaying the whole island is just too ludicrous. There has to be some explanation for how it happened."

"Believe me, Persona users are capable of a lot of things with proper training.", the only conscious human in the room mulled and he massaged his knuckles. "Regardless, Sleeping Beauty probably has some answers, but until then we play the waiting game."

The waiting game didn't last long though, as after a few more seconds, the sleeping Will began to stir in his seat. "Or not." Shikikata muttered.

As Will slowly gained coherency and moved his arms his eyes snapped open and began to viciously tug his arms and legs only to feel the restraints on his wrists and ankles tug and his limbs. Frantically turned his head to see Shikikata and Zero in front of him, and Magna behind him.

"…You have **got** to be kidding me…!" He seethed under his breath. He began to make a strange face, as if concentrating on something, but the Kirijo youth merely tapped the table.

"Those cuffs were specially designed to inhibit the use of Personas. As long as you're wearing them, you can't summon yours." The current Kirijo head mused. "Sit back and relax, you're going to be here a while."

Will grimaced, but said nothing. Zero moved in on the table and placed a palm on the table. "I'm not really in the mood for games kid, so I'll be blunt. I wanna know more about the Scourges, not to mention the Rouken attack. So start talking."

"And what, pray tell, would give me the obligation to tell you?" Will asked with a hint of venom. "Especially _your kind_?"

Zero's eyes narrowed. "I'm not moved by your apparent hatred of Reploids. Frankly, I don't care. But your group leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially after the stunt you pulled last night. And if I had my way, you'd be in a world of hurt for attacking us like that." Shikikata shot him a look.

"Hmph. You're the kind of guy who gets off on talking big, aren't you?" Will asked in a dead tone.

Zero's eye twitched slightly. _Coy punk_.

"Answer him." Shikikata said in a less aggressive tone. "I for one want to know why your group was so interested in attacking Kirijo property a while back. Not to mention why you were intent on obtaining Minato Arisato."

Outside the room, Minato tensed hearing his own name, but he too was curious. This much was known: Nyx was involved in the equation, and by Will's own admission. The question was what that entailed. And he, like the rest of those in the outer room, were intent on listening to every word.

Inside the interrogation room, Will remained silent, not even batting an eyelash, his visible yellow eye staring at the red duo with cold indifference. Magna stepped to the side and bent slightly to meet Will's eye level.

"Look, you may not want to believe it, but we want to help you. With what your group did and with the recorded evidence, you would get in a lot of trouble for assault, or worse." He paused. "That said, we are willing to overlook this incident should you decide to come clean with what you know. So how about it?"

Will's eyes glazed over to Zero and Shikikata, the brunette now sporting a frown. "You're kidding right?" Will asked slowly, deliberately. "_This_ is your stab at me? Guilt trips and bait-setting? You're gonna have to do better than that."

Shikikata buried his forehead in his hand as Zero walked over and planted his hand firmly on the metal table. _Oh boy, here we go…_ The Kirijo redhead sighed internally.

"Alright, kid. Listen up. Some of our own were injured by you and your buddies last night, and I'm not too happy about how you're just passing this off as no big deal. To top it all off, you even were kind enough to admit you were going to kidnap someone _on our property_, which isn't the brightest thing to do. And while we're at it, you even openly declared plans for Reploid genocide. Whether that was a spur-of-the-moment statement or not, that's a serious death threat, and that's not gonna fly."

A moment's silence. "Oh and should we also take a moment to consider that these are indeed charges of assault, trespassing and attempted kidnapping – all of which will land you in the slammer?"

Magna looked at Zero incredulously for that dialogue out of left field – especially for him, but also knew that Zero was right. Shikikata, however, didn't like where this was going. This kind of behavior was precisely what could fuel the fire and keep Will from talking. And right now, letting Zero go on like this could have been a very risky move.

Before Shikikata could nudge Zero, however, Will sighed again. This time, it was a deeper exhale. "And he just keeps going on and on…" he complained. "I didn't expect the great Maverick Hunter Zero to be so full of himself."

Everyone else's eyes widened. "The hell did you just say, punk?" Zero asked, eye twitching.

Meanwhile on the outside, X and Axl gulped, not liking where this was going. Will leaned in slightly. "Honestly, do you not hear yourself? You sound the kind of guy who just likes to hear himself talk." He shook his already-bound hands in a jazz-hands motion. "Always trying to look like the big man with the big boy pants. Sadly, that's not going to work on me." Will sneered. "Oh, and the long hair makes you look ridiculous. You trying to get cast as a fairytale princess or something?"

Magna, X and Axl nearly choked. There was one thing you should never do when it comes to Zero – never mock the hair. And boy howdy, did Will strike with a low blow. Zero was twitching even more now. If Will wasn't a human he would have…

"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I think my audio receptors are on the fritz."

Will cocked his head slightly, his sneer being a real menace. "You heard me, blondie. While we're on the subject, what's with the _man-boobs_? Your creator must have been a real whackjob to do that." he said, almost chuckling.

_Oh HELL NO._ Shikikata thought to himself as Zero almost jumped over the table to hit Will in the face. It took Zero a lot of his willpower to not do just that.

But that's when this really started to go south. "Of course, that's not the half of it, is it Zero? Dr. Wily had a lot worse in store when it came to building you, didn't he?"

_That_ stopped Zero cold, his face draining of color. "Wh…what did you say?" The air in the room began to become very unstable. Even Magna, X, and Axl were beginning to pale.

_Did I just hear what I thought I heard…?_ X processed nervously._ But how? How would this man know that?_

In truth, the fact that Zero was created by Dr. Albert Wily – among other darker things – was kept secret for a long time. Although by now it became common knowledge a good chunk of the Hunter staff over a long period of time, it was still considered classified information by the federation and world governments, so Wily's hand in the Zero's creation – and his involvement in the Maverick Wars – was kept a buried secret from public access.

"How… did you know that?" Zero found himself croaking out. Will sneered again, albeit a slightly darker expression.

"Oh I know _more_ than that, _Original Maverick_. I've seen it all. Every last detail. How the Sigma Rebellions were in essence _your_ fault and how X and the rest of the world had to pick up the pieces. How you killed many in the name of the 'justice' you claimed to follow. Including some of those you _really_ cared for."

"S-Shut up!" Zero jerked back, abhorred by this revelation. "What the _hell_ would you know?!"

"Zero, calm down!" Shikikata barked. "Getting fired up is exactly what he wants!"

"Oh and let's not forget _you_ shall we, _Mr. Kirijo_? You're just as up to your neck in shit as blondie here." This got Shikikata's attention, not to mention Mitsuru and Akihiko's as well on the outside.

"What…are you taking about…" the redheaded human asked carefully.

"Does the term 'Chapter Black' ring any bells?" the brunette asked with a mocking tone. It was Shikikata's turn to be shocked.

"How did you-"

"We have our ways. You've certainly have your share of skeletons in your closet, _Mr. Kirijo_. It'd be a shame if they got out."

"You're not seriously blackmailing me, are you?" Shikikata asked through clenched teeth. Will gave no immediate reply.

"That depends on how this goes down, I suppose." Will said coolly. "Frankly it doesn't matter to me either way. Kirijo, the Hunters…you're all scumbags either way."

The other three occupants were visibly repulsed by the blatant carefree air Will was possessing. The look in his eyes lacked any shade of care towards his would-be captors. It was the look of a man who looked like he could care less about his situation, but Will knew he was merely exercising a mask.

One that concealed his true line of thought and inner-priorities. _The others should have noticed my disappearance by now… I'll just play the waiting game until something happens. The only problem in this scenario…_His eyes trailed from the two in front of him to the door and window behind them. _…is escaping this lion's den without being followed. And knowing the others…they'll probably send __**him**__ to bail me out. Better keep an ear out._

* * *

><p>Abel City, on a rooftop some blocks away from Hunter Base, 1:50 PM<p>

* * *

><p>High on the rooftop of a tall building overseeing the view of Hunter Base from the west end stood a petite figure veiled from head to toe in a long, stark white veil, which had many white metal tubes with sharp appendages wrapped around it, standing to the side of a sizable broadcasting satellite.<p>

The veil's opening only showed its wearer's face, which featured some sort of flat gas mask that sported a vertical figure eight inside an oval over the mouth, and a connecting piece that covered the upper-left side of the face, with a large encircled horizontal figure eight. To his right was a tall broadcasting satellite dish.

Other than the strange mask, a visible greenish-gray right eye and several strands of ash gray hair spilled over the face was all there was to discern. Its right arm extended out, revealing a fair-skinned hand wearing a black fingerless glove with the cuff of a dark turquoise sleeve with a thick stripe of a lighter shade ringed at the wrist and running down the arm. Said hand was firmly placed on the side of the manual control panel to the satellite.

The small figure eyed the Hunter structure with seemingly passive interest, however this was not the case. Its gaze had been fixed on the large set of buildings, its one visible eye trailing all over the place in a deliberate matter. For the last 10 or so minutes it had been staring rather intently at the goliath base from top to bottom. After a few seconds, a muffled mid-pitched sigh escaped from the mask.

"No doubt about it, he's in there, fifth floor." The words escaped the creature's mouth, revealing this onlooker was male, and possibly very young. "And some of the bigger fish are with him. That's never a good sign."

The young cloaked boy felt a vibration in his pants pocket. Fishing through his pocket, he placed a small cell phone to his left ear, his eye contact never once shifting away from the base. "Talk to me."

"_Have you spotted him yet?_" Came a serene male voice from the audio. No doubt, it was the Scourge member named Miyabi. "_I take it you haven't been spotted yourself?_"

"Heh. Luckily for me the building you suggesting I'd perch on is _just_ outside of their security range." he shrouded youth replied nonchalantly. This roof's elevation keeps their cameras from seeing me. And yes, I have Will in my sights. Figuratively speaking, of course."

A hum was heard from the phone. "_Have you hacked the cameras to get a visual_?_ Surely someone with __**your**__ skills could worm your way in with ease…Lucciano._"

The young cloaked figure, Lucciano, huffed behind his mask. "And risk being caught? My Persona being able to hijack camera feed is easy. Covering my tracks is the hard part. I'm not gonna jeopardize the mission with a rush job. Elly would never let me hear the end of it."

Lucciano grimaced at that moment. He and Elly had similar Persona powers but the two in question worked in polar opposites. Elly liked to be in the field and personally carry out her deeds in person, and was far more daring in her endeavors. She was more willing to take risks; he wasn't.

Said risk was ultimately given a safety net by Lucciano's own involvement in the Rouken massacre that made it successful, as it was the petit youth who usurped control of the security and communication systems. The key difference between Lucciano and Elly was that Elly could use her Persona to effectively hypnotize humans into doing her bidding or deteriorate their focus and cognitive ability; this was only as long as she was within range of said persons, which was 80 feet - any further away, and her hold on someone faded.

Lucciano could control electronic computer networking or electromagnetic signals, but had to be touching an extension of his target. Even if he could hijack the island's defenses from a far-off location, without a medium connected to that target it was a moot effort. That's why as Elly was having her James Bond moment before going open season on the inhabitants, Lucciano moved their vessel – a motorized rescue boat the duo commandeered from the Lao Zhen supply ship - to a position under a communications dish, climbed up with a grappling gun and worked his magic.

That's why Lucciano had stayed behind on the stolen life boat – to manipulate the security measures on the island from the shadows (or the blind spots) to keep Elly out of sight. It was essentially how they bypassed the 30 crew members _and_ the ship's security without being caught; a two-fold strategy that worked with surprising efficiency.

But those were with small-time targets. The Maverick Hunters were a different story.

Miyabi chuckled. "_Very true. Being discovered would be a very bad thing indeed. You may need another way in. One I can provide to you._"

"I'm listening." Lucciano purred. When Miyabi came up with ideas, they tended to be rather…interesting.

"_I'm sending an audio file to your phone. When the time comes, hack into their intercom and play the file."_ Upon hearing those words, Lucciano's single eye grew in size.

"Wait, you _finished_ it?" Lucciano asked aloud, sounding impressed. "But I thought it was just a pipe dream to make such a thing."

Miaybi chuckled. "_Luckily for us one of our new recruits has experience with Reploid neurology programming. It was a cakewalk for him. Plus Lou Fa was lending a hand, so…_"

Lucciano smiled deviously under his mask. "Do we know if it works?"

"_We will know when you try it on the Hunters. I think it deserves a test run._" Miyabi replied.

"This seems awfully risky given your standard way of doing things. What happened to the ever-cautious leader?" The hooded onlooker jeered. A short pause came from the phone.

"_Given that Will's report is necessary to advance our agenda – not to mention he's one of our best – I couldn't possibly leave him out to dry._" The leader confided."_Besides…I feel particularly enthused about the new guy's work. Imagine the possibilities…_"

_Yeah, considering we might only be able to use it one time before they can eventually counter it…_'The field agent thought to himself. "There's just one snag to this plan."

Miyabi hummed a bit. "_Let me guess. You'd have to get closer to hack the Hunters' network. Not to worry – try sneaking around the southeast end. The patrols are lax there at this time."_

"And you know this how…?" Lucciano asked before sighing. "Oh, right. _That_." Miyabi chuckled.

"In any event, you should get going. Talking to me won't get the job done." He hung up after that, leading to Lucciano pocketing the phone.

The boy lifted his occupied hand from the metal structure and proceeded to step down from the platform on the rooftop. "Well, better strike while the iron is hot, as they say…"

Nearing the ledge and overseeing the street to see it was clear, he stepped back and hopped skillfully onto the rooftop across the one-way street and proceeded to zigzag through a few more on the grid until he was the second building from the barricading Hunter perimeter and zipped through the fire escape stairs of the nine or so story building.

As his feet planted on terra firma he pressed back against the wall as he heard the sound of opening windows above him – two in total. _Shit! Did I get spotted by someone I passed?_

A balding bespectacled man with a dress shirt and black tie opened the fire escape window on the sixth floor, as well as a plump woman with braided brown pigtails in a purple shirt and jeans on the fourth shortly after. Seeing and hearing nothing, they dismissed the distraction and returned inside, the windows shutting.

Lucciano took the moment to let out a muffled sigh of relief. It would have been _pretty_ bad if he was seen – worst case scenario, he could have had the local police involved – or the Hunters as they were _right _there, even though that was fairly unlikely unless he was already in their territory.

Wasting no time on speculating, he darted down the alleyways until he had the tall, imposing metal wall rimming the complex in his sights. Making sure no one was coming either way, he stacked two empty crates lying nearby and quickly scanned the area on the other side before jumping the wall, landing in a crouched position. His cloak fanned out slightly.

Hearing approaching footsteps far off at ten o'clock, Lucciano rushed behind empty the lookout post standing tall to his side. Peering over the corner, the young man saw four Hunters patrolling together heading around the side of the building. Three of them looked like average Hunters with blue color schemes, but what caught his eye was a blue and purple avian Hunter with silver gauntlets and yellow chest vents. They seemed to be laughing about something.

_A flying one… this could be a problem…_ Lucciano cursed to himself. As he saw them pass by, he waited a moment before darting for the corner, careful not to accidentally garner the Hunter's attention. Looking over the corner to see that their backs were still turned, Lucciano slinked down the windowless wall until he entered an alley-like crevice.

Readying his grappling gun, he fired at the roof's ledge – which was about four stories tall and thankfully had no windows in that crevice – which hooked on the ledge with little problem.

As he climbed the wall, his left foot accidentally clanked against a couple of pipes, which let off a small, but distinct sound. Cursing under his breath, Lucciano kicked his climbing into high gear, fearing he was heard.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened. The bluejay hunter turned around after hearing that clanking noise. "Uh, fellas? You hear that?"

"Hear what? John's constant bad punch lines?" One humanoid Hunter joked, earning a "Hey!" from John. Bluejay shook his head and took a step in Lucciano's direction.

"I think I heard something like metal clanking. Someone might be skulking around. Let's check it out." The other three faced him and nodded. Running back around the corner that they had just passed, they surveyed the immediate area only to find…nothing.

"Huh. Not a soul. You sure you heard something, Bluejay?" The middle humanoid Hunter, Troy, asked. Sonic Bluejay cocked his head and blinked his aquamarine optics.

"I…could have sworn…" Bluejay said to himself. John heaved a sigh.

"And I was in the middle of a good joke, too. Thanks a lot, Bluejay." John moped. Tom, the last Hunter, flicked John on the forehead.

"It wasn't _that_ funny, John. Next time you mope, it should be on the A-material." Tom joked, earning a mopey "…Shut up, Tom…" as a response.

As the foursome walked back the way they came, Lucciano sighed in relief. "That was close…" The cloaked boy huffed before quickly crawling on all fours to avoid the chance of being seen.

It took him a good three minutes to get to his desired location: the plethora or satellite dishes centered on the roof of the complex, far from any ledge. Quickly producing his phone and a rolled up cord from his cloak, he hastened his task, as there was no telling if and when he would be detected.

As he fumbled uncoiling the wire and plugging the tip into the butt of his smartphone, Lucciano heard a faint noise far behind him. _Oh, please no…_

Foregoing his grip on his phone to his left hand, he hastily reached for the Evoker tucked in his cloak and he looked over his right shoulder. Touching down from a light hover was Sonic Bluejay, the Hunter from earlier, his purple bladed plumage settling down as touched the ground. His right forearm shifted into a buster and slowly took aim.

"Step away from the satellite with your hands up." The Hunter ordered sternly.

"You wouldn't dare fire, would you?" Lucciano asked, attempting to feign his fear in of front Bluejay. But in truth, he was not afraid of Bluejay, per say. He was more afraid of the possibility of being surrounded and subdued – one Hunter at a time he could handle, maybe two. Although it would mean exerting his abilities more than he cared to do.

Bluejay's eye ridge rose slightly. Then he returned to his original gaze. "Your hood. Take it off and face me. _Slowly_." Bluejay didn't know how someone was able to get on the rooftop of Hunter Base undetected. With the Maverick Virus and other similar viruses finally cured, Bluejay was a bit skeptical of this intruder being a Maverick, much less one who would be so brazen as to sneak onto Hunter grounds in broad daylight. The normally charismatic avian internally was trying to wrap his mind around why they were here, too.

Lucciano at first did not comply. He simply sat there, in front of the console, concealed Evoker in his hand and aimed at his forehead. The boy let the words "You'll regret this" escape his mouth.

Bluejay wasn't buying it. "I said to remove the hood and turn around!" He repeated. Nerve-wracking silence hung over the next few seconds. "I'm not going to ask again."

Lucciano lightly tugged the trigger of his Evoker. Bluejay didn't know it, but this was slowly becoming a stand-off. The one difference was that Bluejay's opponent's back had a concealed weapon that, on certain conditions, would be as dangerous as a Reploid's buster.

Finally, Bluejay began to slowly walk forward, careful movement in his step – he didn't want to surprise the intruder. That was a big mistake.

After the first step was taken, Lucciano pulled the trigger. Bluejay's attention shifted to the strange sound of breaking glass everywhere around him as his eyes flew in different directions.

His failed to hear the muttered "Zionga" in time to register, and suddenly felt an intense, sharp pain in his abdomen, his eyes shrinking in size. Slowly craning his armored neck, Bluejay saw a gaping hole where his navel would be, singed open circuits sparking and bodily fluids squirting out of fixtures out of tempo.

"No… way…" Bluejay managed to croak out before clutching his stomach, wincing and shortly after going offline. His normally vibrant light blue eyes lost their color and became glassy.

Lucciano looked over his shoulder and gave a pitying look, but only for a moment. As he returned to his previous task, he heard more noise from the far end of the roof. The robed boy suddenly remembered there were three more Hunters with this one, so they naturally would be close by. Cursing under his breath, Lucciano hastened his efforts to establish his connection to the Hunters' communications network.

Just as he whispered "It's done", three more slightly frantic footsteps were heard climbing the far wall up to the roof. _Damn. Forgot some Hunters can wall-jump…_

But it didn't really matter. Now that his phone – with the audio file on standby – connected to the servers and the tracking-prevention software installed, all Lucciano had to do was place his hand on the console, play the file and the job would be done.

Every single occupant of Hunter base – human or Reploid – would be knocked out from the sharp frequency shot out from the intercom system. The two problems were that Will would most likely be affected as well, even though he had some resistance to it thanks to previous exposure. Even then, the second problem remained in that only those _inside_ the building or in the nearby vicinity of it would be affected – Hunters or affiliates out in the field were out of reach.

But Lucciano was more than confident that more than enough targets would be in the base to be moved out of the way so that Will would be able to escape. Now all he had to do was—

"Bluejay! Where are you, man?!" A voice cried out.

Lucciano recognized that voice as one of the three Hunters with Sonic Bluejay and internally panicked for a moment. _Shit!_

Wasting no time, Lucciano placed his hand firmly on the exposed console and began to concentrate, his other hand having pressed the play function on his phone.

That precise moment, Tomeand his fellow patrol surfaced over the ledge, ultimately seeing Bluejay's unconscious form. "B-Bluejay!" Tom cried before seeing Lucciano kneeling before the console. _Did he do this?!_ Tom fumed to himself.

Tom raised his buster, as did the other two, at Lucciano's back, careful not to let their target out of their sight. "Don't move dirtbag! What did you do to our friend?!"

Lucciano grinned mischievously under his mask and chuckled. Tom didn't like that one bit. "Take your hood off and put your hands up! I'm not kidding!"

"…You wouldn't shoot _poor defenseless me_ would you?" Lucciano feigned fear as he slowly let his hood down, revealing the back straps of his mask around his neck and lower cranium, along with his unruly head of pepper-gray hair.

Tom's eyes widened in surprise. "You're a human…!" Lucciano chuckled again.

"That's the least of your concerns." Luccinao mused. But before the three Hunters could say or do anything, a strange noise rang out and the threesome tensed up sharply. Following said convulsion, their features and bodies relaxed as they collapsed on the roofing in a heavy heap.

"Sweet dreams, losers." Lucciano chuckled as he stroked his right ear with two fingers; he was wearing some sort of hearing aid in both ears. _With these, I can block out the audio file playing, so I can move freely. Can't say the same for Will, though._

Lucciano looked down at the floor and sneered as he put on his hood again. _But knowing __**him**__, he's too stubborn to sit back and fall asleep with such an opportunity to get out of there._

A moment's pause as the sound of the audio file – a ghastly sounding alarm hum – resonated in his filtered ears. "…Provided he doesn't fall unconscious to begin with."

* * *

><p>90 seconds beforehand<p>

* * *

><p>For the last several minutes, Zero and Shikikata were attempting to worm their way into Will's head to get information out of them. It failed. Zero tried frisking Will a bit to rough him up without being anywhere near "being Maverick". It only served to amuse Will as he dished out coy lines, much to his interrogators' aggravation.<p>

Hell, they even tried reasoning with him, but that only served to fuel the fire. Will's mouth and mind were like a stainless steel bear trap, and while his Persona powers were incapacitated, he was holding the red duo in front of him in the palm of his shackled hand, dominating them with his mixture of smart language and eerie silence. The stare from his visible lemon eye – which looked as if a corpse was staring into their souls – was not helping.

Zero, being stubborn in the sense that he didn't want to walk away empty-handed, decided to try a different approach. "So, that Minato kid. He seems pretty special to you, huh?"

Minato, who was sitting outside, turned his head as he heard his name being called out. Will merely rose a brow.

"It seems to me that you guys seem to be taking an interest in him. I mean, there was last night, the Kirijo manor…not to mention that there was this strange little 'calling card' some of my buds found during a Mechaniloid glitch yesterday."

Shikikata's curiosity peaked at that moment. "Wait, there was a note from that attack? Where?" Zero turned to the free human.

"It was in the cockpit. For some reason, it had Minato's DNA on it, and this was before his group…appeared." Zero replied, not even giving Will the courtesy of looking in his direction. This changed as he glared at the brunette suddenly.

"But you probably knew that didn't you?" Zero asked accusingly. Will said nothing, which prompted the crimson Hunter to continue. "Admit it; you guys were behind that Mechaniloid attack and forged that note. Well?"

Silence. Will's expression remained stoic, slowly irking the blond legend. Zero began to bear his teeth. Shikikata remained seated, but kept one eye on Zero hoping that he would not become physical.

Will suddenly gave a barely noticeable, creepy smile. A soft chuckle escaped his lips, making Zero twitch. "Do I amuse you?" Zero asked venomously. Will's grin curved a few degrees.

"That's putting it bluntly." Will mused. Zero's jawline was visibly tense and Shikikata was getting nervous. On the outside, X suddenly began to walk for the door. _This isn't good. Zero doesn't look like he can take more of this_.

"Concerned, I see." Mitsuru said aloud, earning the Blue Bomber's attention. "And with good reason."

Akihiko nodded curtly. "He looks like he's got a shorter fuse than I do, and that's saying something. That guy's clearly goading him and it's working."

X nodded. "I'm switching with Zero. That man is clearly looking for a confrontation, and Zero's got the patience of a child. I'm keeping this from getting ugly, _now_."

The very second X reached for the door, Will began to speak again. "But if it's any consolation to you, we were a little too eager in acquiring Minato." Everyone's attention darted towards Will like the aroma of food to the famished. "Turns out he's not ready yet."

"The hell are you going on about now…?!" Zero seethed, instinctively reaching for the Z-Saber by his shoulder. Shikikata slowly reached for his hidden Evoker in the inner breast pocket of his jacket, eyes darting between his fellow bad cop counterpart and their captor. X had just opened the door.

"You don't harvest fruit that isn't edible yet, after all." Will said. At that exact moment, a blaring hum erupted in the room, causing everyone to tense horribly. Will, in a split-second decision, bit hard in his lip and pinched his left hand hard with his right.

The members of S.E.E.S. and the Hunters within and outside the interrogation room lost the glint in their eyes as their bodies grew limp and collapsed sluggishly like rag dolls. Throughout the complex, human and Reploid alike fell victim to the phantom noise that pierced their eardrums and audio receptors, ushering in a wave of forced unconsciousness.

There was no time for any of them – especially X or Minato – to comprehend what was going on before their world turned black on them.

Navigators sprawled out onto their consoles. Lab workers ended up making huge messes knocking over containers and lab equipment. The halls littered with bodies in mere seconds. Hunter Base became eerily quiet.

The acute pain at that precise moment, which he kept lasting for as long as he could, seemed to have been effective in allowing Will to resist the lulling tune of the blaring alarm. Will ceased after he was sure that sound had ceased playing, and began to rub his lip and hand gingerly soon after.

Wasting no time Will sucked in a deep breath and began to yank hard against the restraints on his wrists and ankles. It took him an exhausting two minutes, but Will was able to loosen the links enough to break them, even though the cuffs had a few links dangling left.

Because X's slumped body passed through the doors, Will had the good fortune of a way out of that accursed interrogation room.

_Now to find my weapon…_ The brunette without an undershirt thought as he frantically searched to room for any lead to his blade and Evoker. Spotting a compartment door to the side of the room, he ran over to open it, finding his sword and Evoker strapped down in a containment box. It seems that they didn't move them to another room as of yet, which was a serious blessing from Lady Luck from Will's point of view.

"Normally luck is _Gambler's_ shtick. Best he never finds this out." He sighed. Kicking in the container's glass pane, he withdrew his personal effects, sheathed the blade in his sash, pocketed his Evoker in his breast pocket and prepared to dart out of the lobby as soon as the sliding door opened. He looked over at the slumped-over Minato on his shoulder.

_It'd be a problem if I were seen with him by anyone who comes here after Hunter Base lost contact. There's bound to be Hunters that are around on patrol heading here right now and I can't risk being caught while lugging him. Besides…_

Will clicked his teeth. "…He's not even ripe yet. He'd be just another ward for me to look after." With that Will darted down the hall, leaving X and the others to their slumber.

A few moments later, a groan echoed in the silent room. Slowly stirring and holding his head, Minato began to slowly get up, letting off a pained moan due to the bump on his forehead from hitting the floor.

"What…just happened…?" he muttered to himself. Slowly, the unconscious forms of everyone in the room and lobby sank in. Even Koromaru was out cold, cradled in Ken's arms.

"Where'd that guy go…?" Minato mumbled as he slowly baby crawled over to the wall next to the way out and began to force himself up with the wall as leverage. As he slinked out the sliding door, his body seemed to be aching, his head spinning.

"What did that noise…do to me…?" Minato rasped out as he sluggishly trekked down the hall.

* * *

><p>Hunter Base, 3rd Floor, Staff Lobby, 7 minutes later<p>

* * *

><p>Blizzard Wolfang, who was still affected by the "phenomenon" as Gate and the other science-types in the facility began to coin it, was beginning to stir from his sudden slumber. He groggily looked over at the slumbering Gate, who had sprawled out by his terminal, the lupine Investigator-turned—humanoid-hybrid trying to recall what happened.<p>

Likewise, all over the base, similar cases of the phenomenon – namely Armored Armadillo, Storm Eagle, Slash Beast, Sting Chameleon, Flame Stag and most recently Wheel Gator – began to slowly but surely rejoin the realm of consciousness and began to ponder just what the hell happened.

* * *

><p>Shikoku Temple, at that moment<p>

* * *

><p>Magma Dragoon and Bonzu were in the midst of meditating in front of the Buddha statue when suddenly a static noise erupted from Dragoon's communication sensors. Immediately trying to ascertain what that commotion was, he saw the words "CONNECTION LOST – HUNTER BASE" display in his peripheral vision. If Dragoon were capable of paling, he would have promptly done so.<p>

"Is something wrong?" Bonzu asked. His eyes widened as his saw Dragoon get up and walk towards the sliding door to the courtyard. Dragoon looked back at the monk.

"Something big just happened. I need to check it out." The red draconic Hunter replied, worry evident in his voice.

"I hope no one's been hurt." Bonzu prayed aloud.

Magma nodded grimly, looking forward. "Yeah… me too…"

* * *

><p>And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Chapter 11. Special thanks to Nu Mon Sage for peer-reading and assisting with some major edits. You're awesome, man.<p>

Also, it should be known that Sonic Bluejay, along with Shade Panther form Chapter 7 are my original characters, and that their designs can be found on my deviantART page (my username being 'YamiNetto').

On that note, I would greatly appreciate a review or two for this chapter, and maybe some comments on my artwork if it's not too much of a bother – I've been in a bit of an artistic slump and commenting would make me feel better.

Well then, until next time! Things are going to start heating up from here on!


	12. DEEP IN SLEEP

Heya, all! Sorry to keep you guys waiting for the new chapter. My life's been very hectic since last chapter, between school, trying to get a job and other regular takeaways on my schedule, not to mention writer's block and trying to work on two other fanfics; 'Let Loose the Dogs of War', my Archie Sonic fanfiction, and an upcoming Future Card Buddyfight fanfic 'Stand Proud' (which will have elements of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in the mix).

Thankfully, I was finally able to get this chapter to where I wanted it to be before finals started, and those would drain the hell out of me.

Anywho, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: DEEP IN SLEEP<p>

* * *

><p>Hunter Base – 5th Floor Hallway, 2:05 PM<p>

Will jogged frantically down the hallway he was in, eyes darting left and right for signs of an elevator, or at the very least, signs _leading_ to one. In the brightly lit chrome-colored halls that all seemed to look the same, the open-shirted brunette with the giant black sword on his back began to curse his luck.

He had been running for almost three minutes in this labyrinthine fortress called Hunter Base and could not find any inkling of an elevator, or even stairs. His visible yellow eye shuddered in frustration and Will clicked his tongue.

"How is it that there are _no_ directory signs on this floor?" Will began to grumble as he turned a corner. He realized this turn was a dead end and turn around, cursing under is breath. "Seriously, I feel like a lab rat in a maze, for God's sake…"

Will remembered that in recent months more humans began to work here, and humans – unlike Reploids – didn't have internal computer systems like a map. So how did they get around? It _was_ possible they had some kind of personal terminal on them to be their guide.

'_Makes sense. When Mavericks were still big, the possibility of Mavericks being able to navigate in this place would've been really bad. I guess the Hunters didn't want them infesting their home so easily. Doesn't help __**me**__, though._'

Will cursed again as he ran passed a hallway in a three-way intersection, before halting and backtracking a few steps. His face lit up as he saw what appeared to be an elevator down the hall on the left-hand side.

Wasting no time he bolted down and slid to a stop before the steel door and pressed the down button next to it. His vision glazed upward to the screen above the elevator doors displaying what floor the lift was on – it was dark, the screen black.

Cocking a brow, Will pressed again. No response; the button wasn't even lighting up. He irritably pressed a couple of times before throwing his arms to his sides.

"Are you kidding me?!" Will seethed in a low shout. He twisted his head to the side and growled. "Damn you Lucciano. When you knocked out the base you knocked out the elevators too!"

He really wished he could use his Persona's sensory abilities right now, but even broken, the cuffs on his wrists seemed to be blocking it. On top of that, his powers were only useful in finding sources of sentient life like humans or Reploids – it didn't come with anything like echolocation or anything that would help map out where he was.

He began running back to the main hallway and proceeded down the direction he was originally going. "I gotta find those damn stairs…"

At that time, two floors down…

Blizzard Wolfang proceeded to exit the laboratory wing on the 3rd floor after unsuccessfully trying to awake Gate. He began running down the hallway, careful not to trip over anyone 'out to lunch' on the floor. His initial instinct was to run on all fours, but after a few seconds to started to send waves of discomfort through his hybrid-like body. He was normally used to running quadruped, but now it seemed to feel awkward now.

Putting this discovery to the side for now, he set his priority to finding someone - _anyone_ – still conscious – and set up a plan. It was clear the base was attacked. But so far he had not run into any enemies. '_What in the world could have caused this?_'

His ruby eyes looked in awe as he passed down the hallway, seeing human and Reploid alike either slumped on a wall or sprawled on the floor, anything on their person or were carried lying strewn by them.

One middle-aged man with messy gray hair and thick glasses laid unconscious at an intersection to Wolfang's right, the left arm of his lab coat soaking in the spilt contents of a shattered white coffee mug.

A humanoid Reploid with skin-tight orange armoring and green pads rested in an awkward position on his back, a clipboard of papers beside him, the papers upside down and curling.

"This is awful…" Wolfang breathed in silent horror, his wild icy blue hair billowing with each step. As he continued his trek, his ears – the purple wolf-like ears popping out of his messy head of hair – began to twitch as a sudden, sharp pitter-patter began to ring in them. He looked to his right and the noise seemed to get louder.

'_Someone's coming...!_' Wolfang realized as his first action was to hide along the hallway, back to the wall and peering around the corner.

'_So who's gonna show up; friend or foe?_' Wolfang thought to himself as he bared his fangs. He may not be able to use some of his usual techniques right now – Gate had originally said it not be a good idea at the time given his predicament – but he wasn't exactly powerless. If it came down to it, he could always tackle them.

Or use his claws. But he hoped it didn't have to come to that.

As a figure began to turn the corner, Wolfang instinctively proceeded to jump on them, knocking the figure down and pinning them before realizing just who he pinned.

With a head of chin-length forest green hair with a serrated line of lighter green locks slicking back the center of his head like a sawmill blade and peach skin, was who appeared to be a certain member of the 6th Naval Unit, who was hissing after hitting his head on the metal flooring.

"Dammit, that _hurt_! What was that fo-" Wheel Gator shouted as his neck craned to face Wolfang, his candy red eyes meeting the Investigator's. Gator relaxed a bit before wincing after seeing that he ran into an ally and not an enemy.

"Wheel Gator? It got you too? " Wolfang asked aloud. As the transmuted lupine Reploid got off of the reptilian-esque hunter and helped him up, Wolfang couldn't help but observe the green hybrid.

Wheel's current form probably clocked him a little over six feet tall standing upright, and his armor's dimensions were a somewhat more compacted, making him roughly the size of an average humanoid Reploid with standard-sized armor, like X or Zero.

Additionally, the metallic yellow cuff around his neck was significantly smaller like a ringed collar, and the apparatus on his back curved smoothly along his spine. His feet were still that of his normal form (which seemed strange on a human-type Reploid) and his gray metallic hands still had the green webbing, but the claws weren't as sharp.

Gator's sighed a bit as he rubbed his head with one hand. "If by 'it' you mean what happened to you and the others, then it looks like it. You didn't have to tackle me, y'know."

Wolfang chuckled nervously. "S-sorry about that. I guess old habits die hard, huh?"

Gator returned the gesture. "To be fair, I was tempted to bite you for a moment. But I doubt it would end well. Y'know with these?" Gator then gave a toothy smile of pearly whites, some of his teeth surprisingly pointed.

"Join the club." Wolfang joked before turning his head down the hall and look back at Gator. "So you're alone?"

"I guess. Everyone I passed by is out cold, human or Reploid. The hell happened?" Wheel asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

Wolfang's eyes scanned the hall again. "Search me. I remember hearing a high-pitched noise from the intercom, then everything went black. And from the looks of it, it got just about everyone in Hunter Base. No one's stirring or even rebooting. I have a feeling whatever did this… it was meant to last for something. Something big."

"We should try and send an SOS. With everyone down and out, the door's practically wide open for enemies – or God forbid, Mavericks - to get in and swarm the place. Probably finish off every last one of 'em too…" Wheel grimaced, his eyes leering to the side.

Wolfang shook his head and started moving down the hall. "Bad idea. The communication room would be the first thing an enemy would try and seize. Worst case scenario it could be blocked off, guarded or outright destroyed,. They could even tamper with the teleporting systems and cripple the Hunters from the inside. Not to mention we're not in the best condition right now. But…"

Wolfang trained his eyes on the ceiling cameras above him and along the hall, and seeing that they weren't moving or shifting as they usually did, his hunch was confirmed. "It looks like the cameras are out of commission too. This could be a small blessing in disguise."

Wheel merely raised a brow. "And how's that?"

Wolfang gave a small grin. "If the cameras are out and there _are_ enemies in the base, they can't use the cameras to see if anyone's awake. They'll be blind."

Wheel grinned deviously. "That _is_ fortunate. Well then, where to?"

Wolfang took a moment to ponder. "Well, if we're awake, there's a possibility that others would be as well." He ran a clawed hand down the side of his icy blue bangs. "My first guess would be Slash Beast and the Hunters also in our little… _predicament_. Chances are they might be awake too."

"How'd you figure?" Wheel inquired again, crossing his green, orange and steely gauntleted arms, his tail swaying a bit.

"Every Reploid and human in the complex seems to be unconscious, but we were able to quickly get back up. Why do you think that is?"

Wheel placed a webbed hand to his chin. "Cuz we're currently neither full Reploid or human at the moment. So if what you say is true, we should look for them and come up with a plan." Gator's expression then became one of worry. "Problem is we don't know where they are, and even if communications weren't down – if they are – _we_ can't communicate with them directly like could normally do with our channels."

Wolfang knelt down to the sprawled-out man with the coffee-stained lab coat and fished out the universal unit in his coat pocket.

The universal unit, or U2, was a special apparatus found and used almost exclusively by the humans working at Hunter Base and select government and political locations worldwide. It carried functions akin to Reploid broadcasting and calculation system functions that Maverick Hunters possessed. Basically it was like a cell phone of sorts and supercomputer in one for portable use. Each U2 is attuned to set frequencies so that frequencies from different governments or countries didn't intercede with each other unless the channel is opened on both sides beforehand.

The list of countries that use this system included the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Spain, Mexico, Israel, Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Switzerland, China and Singapore, among others.

Wolfang fiddled with the controls a bit, but put it back in the man's pocket after venting a huff of frustration. "No dice; there's no signal. It's not even turning on."

"Well, that's just _great_…" Gator spat, teeth clenched. "I guess we'll just have to check around on foot, then." His ruby eyes fixed on his companion. "So, where to?"

"Well, Dr. Cain thought we should be laying low for a while with our 'condition', so we wouldn't be doing any active work. We can't teleport, or recharge, or even use the training rooms without some risk…"

A long moment of silence passed before Wolfang continued. "Last I checked, Flame Stag was being monitored by Dawson, and his office is one floor up on the east wing. And there's a number of break rooms scattered around the complex, so chances are we may have to check each one."

"Lovely…" Gator droned with prominent sarcasm. "But if what you said earlier was true, and the others might be awake sooner or later, then chances are they might be moving about too, just to find out what the hell's going on."

Wolfang shuddered. "Oh. _Great_. That makes this more complicated. There's a break room in all three wings on each floor, right?"

"Yep." Gator sighed. "Fifteen rooms to check. We better get started." As he started walking down the hall towards the west wing, the 6th Unit Hunter groaned as he started pushing some of his green locks of hair out of his vision. "Jeez, hair can be so annoying sometimes. How do humans deal with this stuff anyway?"

"They get haircuts." Wolfang quipped. "And I don't see why you're complaining – you're hair's a lot more manageable than mine. _Plus_, I got these big ears poking out, and they're sensitive." The former Nightmare Investigator jabbed a clawed thumb at his scalp, where a waterfall of icy blue hair spikes flowed and reached just past his neck collar.

"You got a headband to help you out, Wolf. I don't. Humans use hair gel to deal with wiggy hair, right?"

"Can we save the hair debate for later? We really need to get moving." Wolfang sighed as he began to pick up the pace and passed Gator.

"…Right."

* * *

><p>Central Highway, Southbound, 2: 12 PM<p>

* * *

><p>Magma Dragoon was becoming increasingly disturbed by his attempts to contact Hunter Base being fruitless and being met with a blank line, both on his internal channel and his Ride Chaser.<p>

"Damn it… Someone pick up!" the red 14th Unit leader as he pressed on the gas and began to take a right at the highway split, heading west.

He tried raising contact with a couple of Navigators – including Alia, Layer and Palette – but met with the same result. He tried contacting X, Zero, Dr. Cain, Signas – anyone big he could think of stationed at the base, but the hollow silence and faint monotone hum was the only response to his efforts.

Fearing the worst, Dragoon started to, for a lack of a better word for Reploids, panic. If there was an attack on Hunter Base – and that was a big _'if'_ – chances were that someone – _anyone_ – would have sent an SOS of some kind. Even when the signals were jammed, there was loud static inferring such a thing.

But there wasn't even any static. It was deafening silence.

Dragoon began to sort out in his head how this could have happened, but that was only met with more questions forming in his processor.

There were an approximate total of 2400 humans and Hunter Reploids working at or living at Hunter Base, with approximately 85 percent of them on campus at all times. If around 2000 employees suddenly became incapacitated all at once…

Dragoon hastened to activate the emergency call channel on his Ride Chaser, murmuring a silent prayer that someone – _anyone_ – would pick up.

The channel activated and began broadcasting, the activation evident by the new screen on the Ride Chaser's monitor. After a suspenseful fifteen seconds, some noise could be heard.

-_KHZZZZZZZZZTT- Hello? Who's there?-_

'_This voice… isn't that…?_' Dragoon paused for a moment before recognizing the voice at last. "Grizzly Slash, I presume?"

-_That's my name, don't wear it out. Any reason why the emergency line's been activated? - _

Dragoon's tone became more serious. "Have you been able to raise a connection to Hunter Base or with any personnel?"

-_… Well, I __**was**__ expecting a call from Froid regarding the Rouken analysis, but his call's been 30 minutes late. Bit weird, since that cub gets uppity about punctuality. And unlike you Hunters on duty, I don't have direct access to Hunter channels; I'm technically an outside adviser._' A short pause before Grizzly's tone lowered. -_What… exactly happened? _-

Dragoon's voice turned a bit grave. "Hunter Base's communications are all down, and I can't contact anyone stationed there. Something definitely happened. Hopefully, more personnel not on duty should pick up, cuz the fact that no one's answering is raising so serious red flags for me. But if communications and teleporting really are down, those outside of Japan gat get back on their own. Who else do you know amongst the roster that would be in Japan?"

_-Off the top of my head? No idea. Shouldn't you have contacted the police on this? They might be able to lend a hand_.-

Dragoon grunted an approving huff. "If I can get in contact with them. With the Hunter Base down, the phone service went down with it. You think you could …?"

Grizzly sighed on the other line. _-Already on it_. _I'll call you back.-_ With that, Grizzly got off the emergency line, just as Dragoon made it past the four-way highway junction. Taking the middle-right path, Dragoon sped past a couple of cars in the slow lane as he tried to raise contact with anyone else around.

"There's _no way_ I'm the only Hunter in town out of the base." The red Hunter tried to reassure himself. "But I'm not seeing signs of an attack or panic in the distance. No alarms either. This is _really_ getting weird."

-_Who the hell keeps turning on the emergency broadcast? This __**better**__ be important.-_

Dragoon's optics widened, recognizing the voice. "Red?! Is that you?! Are you with anyone else?!"

-_Calm down, man; I'm with the rest of Red Alert, save for Axl. Something happened, didn't it?_-

"Yeah, communications are down, and I can't raise connection with any Hunter or employee at the base. Not even static. It's as flat as they come."

_-Jesus Christ… Where are you now? We're gonna head back to HQ. I don't like the way this is playing out.-_

"I'm past Exit 62, heading southwest on the highway; I should be there in 10 minutes. Be careful; I think there may have been an attack."

-_Did you try calling the police and get backup? I mean, it wouldn't be much against Mavericks, God forbid, but it'd be better than nothing…_-

"The phone line is down on my Chaser, so the Hunter's phone line connection must be down at the base. I've only been able to raise you and Grizzly Slash at the pier. And since human employees don't have internal channels like we do, it'd take longer to reach them, so… Besides, Grizzly said he'd call. He's got a working phone to the station."

-_Ah. We're already turning around. I hope to God nothing's happened…_-

"You've been saying God a lot. Became one of the faithful?" Dragoon joked lightly.

-_Says the Buddhist. I'll try to raise anyone I can to meet us there. Watch yourself. Boarski, step on it!_-

As Red hung up, Dragoon took a sharp turn down one of the main streets, causing a pair of punk humans to jump back in surprise as the turn necked at top speed.

"The hell is _his_ deal?" one punk guffawed. He had a black trench coat and slacks over a blue shirt emblazoned with a grey skull facing left surrounded by orange flames and had short blond hair with a large central tuft shaped into a Mohawk. His eyes were covered by dark shades, but he had two piercings in his left lower lip and silver ear studs.

"He's probably in a hurry. Ignore 'im; It's not like it's our business." The other voice belonged to a young man as tall as the other, ebon hair styled in a sharpened, pointed regent with a few loose licks of hair framing his forehead, wearing a similar open trench coat with a tall collar with matching slacks, a white t-shirt with a double-ringed X symbol extending passed the rings with two dashes through each line.

He had two small scars on his left cheek and one at the edge of his right eyebrow. He had hardened-looking black eyes, and a lit cigarette hanging in his mouth.

"You sure, bro? I mean, if a _Hunter_ is in a hurry in this day and age, it's possible that-"the blond pondered before the black-haired man gave a callous wave of the hand.

"Moga, Mavericks are ancient history now. And even if some still _did_ exist, they're small time now that the vaccines and shit have been mass-produced." He took a drag of his sin stick.

The blond, Moga, chuckled. "Ya can't blame me for being tense, Honda. Mavericks only became a thing of the past last year. It's been hell for humanity for well over ten years, and the scars still show for it."

"Too true." Honda exhaled the tobacco from his lungs and cranked his neck, his expression contorting at the thought. "Besides, you know how I feel about them."

"Just be careful where you say it, though." Moga huffed, arms shrugging. "The incident at Hunter Base last night was a huge scare to the big brass. I mean, they were all hush-hush about what happened, but I heard from a friend that they don't want what happened to become public."

"You don't say…" Honda Hagakure mused as he lazily looked at the direction where Dragoon had sped down. "Wonder what could've happened."

Moga didn't know it at the moment, but Honda's quote and face betrayed what he claimed. He knew.

He received _his_ call not to long ago. He was to steer clear of whatever was going on in the part of Abel where Hunter HQ stood.

And so, he took this day off to join up with the rest of his gang and hit the arcade. '_This time, I'll beat Hiroshi's score… And maybe Jaguar's while I'm at it…_'

* * *

><p>MMHQ 3rd Floor, East Wing, Just Outside Dawson's Office<p>

* * *

><p>"Well, that can't be good…" Flame Stag mumbled, seeing several more unconscious humanoid Hunters and human staff slumped and sprawled on the hallway floor on either side of the quasi-state deer Reploid. After waking up to see Dawson slumped on his chair, he feared the worst and checked his vitals; regardless of being in the 17th Elite Unit for his career, it was standard procedure that all Hunter staff, regardless of race, to know how to perform CPR or even how to stabilize a human's condition in case of emergency. Stag thought it was over-the-top that the 3,000+ Hunters and human staff had to be educated, but given Dawson's sudden visage, he wasted no time.<p>

Thankfully, his pulse and breathing were stable. Stag tried waking him, but he was out like a light. The same could be said as the burnt orange-haired quasi-Reploid's pink line across his cheekbones crinkled as he cursed to himself, his cheek muscles and lips cringing.

"Looks like everyone's taking a catnap, huh. Don't tell me _everyone_ in the base is in Dreamland…" Stag checked the vitals of the three human workers on either side for a stable condition. They were all breathing normally, but were in a deep sleep state; waking them up would probably not happen for a while.

Stag proceeded to examine his Reploid comrades' offline forms – they were no doubt offline, probably due to some sort of override to their systems. Question is… if everyone in the base besides himself was dreaming of sheep… just how the hell was it pulled off? Who could have done it? What methods were used? When could they have achieved their objective?

Stag groaned. He was more of a punch-and-burn-first kind of guy, not much of a thinker. Not to say he wasn't smart, but formulating hypotheses weren't his strong suit. If anything, Kuwanger was much better than him at that.

But in the midst of his internal monolog, he noticed something permeating the hallway. It was faint, but the brown ears buried in his scalp twitched for a second. "Where the hell's that humming coming from…?", Stag said aloud to himself.

Eyes scanning the hall, he searched the immediate hall for telltale signs of that annoying monotone echoing through the hall. The Heat Knuckle Champion rose a brow as he suddenly had an idea.

"Could that be the intercom?" Getting closer to one of the base's innumerable ceiling speakers, Stag confirmed that was in fact the case.

Without thinking Stag began to pick up pace and walked towards the central extension of the floor where the four wings interceded – that was where the closest elevators were, anyway.

Carefully to avoid or step around anyone passed out on the floor or slumped along the walls, Stag's giant footsteps echoed in the hallway as he strode at a hurried pace, arms pumping slightly.

After roughly sixty seconds, just before reaching the elevator he started to hear footsteps. Fairly heavy ones, too. '_Don't tell me… Mavericks?!_'

The sensation of adrenaline – or what would substitute – began to bleed through Stag's thought process, beginning to believe that this was a possible Maverick attack. But that shouldn't be possible!

Ever since the vaccines and anti-virus upgrades became widespread and the last of the Maverick incidents were being quashed, and the rebooting of previous cleared victims of the Sigma Wars – Stag being among them – the Maverick Hunters and their associate factions worldwide made a rather major effort to set up better and more efficient global surveillance networking that allowed pretty much any and all Maverick or terrorist action or movement next to impossible to take anyone by surprise.

In addition to that, efforts were made to make teleportation signals more exclusive to approved bodies, so that Mavericks and terrorists couldn't abuse the technology. That included producing the technology enabling human beings safe teleportation use like the Reploids have, although there were still work to be done for longer 'traffic'. (According to what Stag heard in gossip, the longest human teleportation possible at the moment is roughly the distance from Boston to Washington D.C. without issues.)

Knowing all this, Stag was considering toning his fear down a notch on the grounds that a Maverick attack was highly unlikely without advanced warning.

Despite that, Stag ignited one of his fists mentally and slowly tiptoed towards the hallway intersection to his left, hearing a pair… no, _two_ pairs of footsteps coming around. He was about to fire his fist before hearing "_Stag, it's me_!"

Upon seeing a familiar mix of purples, blues, red and yellow – not to mention the giant wings – Stag disengaged his makeshift Speed Burner fist seeing Storm Eagle with his arms up to his face, his current form's purple and yellow frizzing a bit. What was odd was Storm was holding what appeared to be a black walkie-talkie-like device in his left hand.

"Storm Eagle… I didn't scare you did I?" Stag asked coyly as he regained composure, the sense of adrenaline fading at the sight of a friend. A small cackle could be heard from behind Eagle, who frowned at the next comment.

"Maybe because your Speed Burner could've wrecked his pretty face. " Sting Chameleon chuckled as he hunched forward a bit, hands on his shins as he relished in his joke, his spiny neon green hair bobbing a little.

"_Focus_." Storm warned. Immediately the other two returned to a more professional air. "Stag, you didn't happen to see anyone awake, did you? We woke up in the West Wing's practice simulator only to find everyone else there out like a light. The humans are stable, but no one's stirring. None of the other Hunters show signs of rebooting soon either."

"Yeah, it was the same for me. " Stag chimed in, his right hand ruffling the hair on the back of his scalp. "I was in Dawson's office getting examined before some sort of loud noise happened over the intercom and… everything… went dark…" Stag's eyes went wide. "Have you two been hearing a loud humming noise since you woke up?"

Storm and Sting exchanged glances before shaking their heads. "Should we have?" Sting inquired, his visible red eye expressing some level of confusion.

Stag groaned slightly. "The halls have been abuzz with this loud hum on the intercom – don't know why but it's giving me a headache." Stag flicked his right deer ear with two fingers. "It's making these ears hurt a bit."

Storm cupped his chin in thought. "What was you usual hearing range like?" Stag shrugged.

"I wasn't designed for the need to hear high pitches like dog whistles. I was in the 17th Unit – we were more about direct combat than anything else. If anything, the pitch thing would be more of the 0th Unit's bag. I hear Centipede's got a whole book of tricks."

"And you couldn't hear something like this before… you don't think…" Storm unconsciously muttered. Being within earshot Sting stood upright.

"Got something you wanna share with the class?" the commander of the 9th Ranger Unit inquired.

"It's only a theory, but… you think it's possible our personal predicament and how we seem to be the only ones conscious are connected…?"

Stag and Sting shared an odd look. Storm sighed. "Look, I get that it's a snowball's chance in hell, but think about it: so far the only ones who got back up were the three of us, along with Armadillo and Slash. There's a good chance Wolfang and Wheel are up and at 'em, too."

Well, it wasn't too hard to concede that Storm had a bit of a point at the moment. But that answer only bubbled forth _more_ questions. "Note to self: ask those S.E.E.S. kids more about the Dark Hour." Stag said out loud to no one in particular. "Anyway, I was heading towards the central elevators; thought I'd go check the navigation room on the top floor."

"That _is_ where the intercom system's found…" Sting brought up. "Well then, what are we doing wasting around here for?"

"Hold up." Storm intervened with a raised forearm. Holding down a button on the walkie-talkie in his hand, the dual hair-colored Eagle began speaking. "Slash, Armadillo. Do you read, over?"

A second passed. -_This is Slash. What's up_?- Haughty-sounding and proud. Definitely Slash Beast.

Storm nodded. "We've found Stag and we're heading up to the fifth floor's navigation room. Chances are our attackers might be there. If they take out the systems we as an organization will be reeling from it for months."

A snort came from the device. -_No shit. Old man Cain just might have a heart attack over it. That is, if X and Zero don't flip and panic first._-

A sudden –_Hey!-_ and a new, gruffer voice uttering -_Give me that!_- echoed from the speaker as the new voice spoke

-_We're currently checking the ground floor. We passed by the main entrance and welcome desk – there were no signs of intrusion from the outside. There's also no signs of any struggle or alarm._- Armored Armadillo's voice rang through.

=_And yet the whole friggin' base falls unconscious at the same time. I smell foul play afoot._- Slash growled. Hearing that, Storm thought of an important question.

"Say, you two. You wouldn't have happened to hear a high-pitched hum in the halls, have you?"

A short pause. -_Come to think of it, yeah_.- Slash confirmed over the walkie. -_It's friggin' annoying_. Yo_u think it's got something to do with the system meddling?_-

-_I hear it as well, but it's fairly weak to me. But it's clearly affecting Slash._- Armadillo chimed in. -_What about you guys_?-

"Sting and I can't hear it. Stag can." Storm replied with a touch of intrigue. "Did you by any chance swing by the surveillance room? Since Armadillo is a unit commander he should have clearance."

-_We were just heading there, but remember, the security lock's done through retinal scan – it might not recognize my opti—well, eyes. I'm still gonna go and check._- Armadillo spoke curtly.

"Right. Radio when you got something." Storm replied. "Over and out." Ending the transmission Storm began to walk down the hall. "Well, boys. Shall we?"

The other two following, the trio finally made it to the central port of the 3rd Floor, which was ultimately a couple of stories tall. Walking around the unconscious bodies of the personnel, Stag hurried to the elevator and tapped the up button. Seeing no response, he huffed a sigh. "Elevator's busted. We'll have to walk up."

"We better move it." Storm replied. The trio was about to share a nod when they started hearing footsteps.

One… two… _three pairs_? Two were coming from down the opposite wing, and one was pounding against the steps. The three pivoted into fighting stances, just in case.

What they didn't expect was a human being running top speed down from the f 4th floor, onto the 3rd and running to the next staircase down. Storm immediately recognized him as one of the three humans who attacked Hunter Base last night!

'_What's __**he**__ doing here?!_' Storm mentally shouted to himself as his first instinct was to give chase.

"Wh—Storm! What are you…?!" Stag called out to Eagle before realizing that the human in question was Will from last night. "_**YOU!**_" Darting after him in the same fashion, this left Sting to give chase, but not before seeing two familiar faces turn the corner from the other side of the hall.

"Gator! Wolfang! There you are!" Sting shouted triumphantly before turning down the staircase.

"What's going on here?!" Wolfang nearly barked before noticing Will at the front of the chase. "That's…!"

Gator took the initiative and darted down the stairs past the two. "Less talking, more running! That sonnuva bitch's gonna pay for last night!"

As the chase down in the incredibly long flights of stairs ensued, the quasi-animaloid Reploids failed to notice that there was someone on the 5th floor who witnessed the whole thing. He was barely able to walk stably but left the wall and gripped the stair rail firmly.

"You're not… getting away…!" Minato cursed as he hurried down the stairs as best he could, careful not to stumble, and gripping his Evoker in his free hand.

* * *

><p>And there you have it, Chapter 12. Bits and pieces were a bit rushed, but I'm still pretty satisfied with the results.<p>

And as always, I'd like to thanks the ever-talented Nu Mon Sage for peer-reading and giving me some pointers. You rock, man. And don't forget to check out his work, too!

Dr. Weird, out.


End file.
